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Hendrix College Announces Fulbright U.S. Student Award for 2024-2025

Emma Schroeder '24CONWAY, Arkansas (March 28, 2024)—Hendrix College is pleased to announce that Emma Schroeder has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award for an English Teaching Assistantship to France for the 2024-2025 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. 

As a Fulbright participant, Schroeder will teach abroad for the 2024-2025 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected in an open, merit-based competition that considers leadership potential, academic and/or professional achievement, and record of service. Their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of accomplished Fulbright alumni, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Notable Fulbright alumni include 62 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, 78 MacArthur Fellows and 41 who have served as a head of state or government. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from over 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Schroeder, a native of Magnolia, Arkansas, will be graduating in May 2024 with a major in French and a minor in Spanish, and as a Murphy Scholar through the Hendrix-Murphy Programs in Literature and Language. As an ETA in France, Emma intends to engage her experiences growing up in a resource-poor community to provide similarly-situated young students in France with the resources and intercultural connections she herself lacked. In the classroom, she plans to use a variety of multisensory techniques, including humor and the use of film and music, to engage her students in learning English and understanding American culture and society.

“Emma’s selection reflects her passion for French as well as a deep commitment to shaping the future as a teacher. I am proud of her success in achieving this highly competitive placement and grateful to the Hendrix professors and mentors who prepared her to successfully compete for this life-changing opportunity,” said Hendrix College President Karen Petersen. “Furthermore, her desire to share less common U.S. cultural attributes through film will enhance understanding, which I suspect will strengthen Emma’s teaching capacity when she returns to the U.S.”

The Hendrix Fulbright U.S. Student Program is administered by Dr. Daniel Edquist-Whelan (Professor and Chair of the Department of Politics) with the support of Dr. Dorian Stuber (the Distinguished Scholarships Advisor) and members of the Hendrix College Honors Committee, chaired by Britt Murphy, Director of Bailey Library. 

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program.

More than 2,000 U.S. students, artists, and early career professionals from all backgrounds and in more than 100 different fields of study receive Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards annually to study, teach English, and conduct research overseas. Additionally, more than 800 U.S. scholars -- faculty, artists, and professionals -- from all backgrounds teach or conduct research overseas through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually. 

In the United States, the Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.      

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, please visit https://fulbrightprogram.org or contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Press Office at ECA-Press@state.gov.

About Hendrix College

Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges and celebrated among the country’s leading liberal arts colleges for academic quality, engaged learning opportunities and career preparation, vibrant campus life, and value. The Hendrix College Warriors compete in 21 NCAA Division III sports. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. Learn more at www.hendrix.edu

  “… Through engagement that links the classroom with the world, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion, justice, and sustainable living, the Hendrix community inspires students to lead lives of accomplishment, integrity, service, and joy.” —Hendrix College Statement of Purpose