Florida Southern in Lakeland recognized for producing Fulbright scholars

Florida Southern College has been recognized by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Students.

It is the second consecutive year and fourth in the past five that the Lakeland school has received that recognition. Florida Southern has had 19 students and alumni selected for Fulbright awards since the first was chosen in 1949, all but two of them since 2017, the school said in a news release.

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The Fulbright program, overseen by the U.S. State Department, supports scholars who study in more than 140 countries. Recent selections from Florida Southern include Austin Crotteau (Norway), Catherine Stogner (Montenegro), Morgan McDermott (Thailand), Lexi Potter (Greece), Zoe Perkins (Latvia) and Grace Sill (Taiwan).

Associate Professor of English Rebecca Saulsbury Bravard, Florida Southern’s Director of Prestigious Fellowships and Associate Director of Honors, has helped guide students toward their goals of earning a Fulbright Scholarship. She said that 64% of the school’s applicants have been named semifinalists.

“All of this underscores the exemplary education our students receive in and outside the classroom, from study abroad and internships to collaborative research with faculty members, presenting their work at national and international conferences, cultivating leadership skills and engaging in service,” Bravard said.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Florida Southern in Lakeland recognized for Fulbright scholars