Lakeville South Student a Fulbright Scholar

This year, the University of Minnesota is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act and its ongoing land-grant mission of learning, discovery and engagement for the common good. Fittingly, a record 12 U of M Twin Cities alumni have been awarded 2012-13 bachelor level Fulbright Scholarships and will participate in the country’s largest exchange program. Additionally, one alumna received a Fulbright-affiliated teaching assistantship and six current U of M graduate students – including two university alumni – accepted graduate level Fulbright Scholarships.

Sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide. The program currently awards approximately 1,800 grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.

Bachelor level Fulbright Scholarships, including English Teaching Assistantships, academic research/study grants and journalism grants, were given to the following University of Minnesota alumni:

Nicole Muenchow will spend 2013 as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at a teacher’s college in Brazil, where she will be part of an initiative to improve English instruction in advance of the country hosting both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Muenchow graduated from the College of Liberal Arts with high distinction in 2011, majoring in Spanish & Portuguese Studies and earning a certificate in teaching English as a second language. She would like to pursue a career teaching English to adult immigrants in the United States. Her extensive teaching background includes serving as an Americorps Vista literacy tutor, teaching English to elementary students in Berlin through the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation, assisting in English classes for adult immigrants at the International Education Center and mentoring youth at the Centro Latino Community Center. Muenchow is a graduate of Lakeville South High School in her hometown of Lakeville, Minn.