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TACOMA, Wash. – Eighteen students and recent alumni of the �������� have won prestigious national scholarships and will teach or conduct research in countries including Morocco, France, Spain, China, Cambodia, India, and Germany.

The new awards take the number of national fellowships and scholarships won by Puget Sound students in the 17 years from 2000-01 to a total of 201. The robust list of honors for attendees of the national liberal arts college, with its student body of just 2,600, is a testament to Puget Sound students' acumen and drive who come to study at the Pacific Northwest campus from 46 states and eight countries.

This year’s awards include two Watson Fellowships, which fund a year of research and travel; three Fulbright Research Awards, to pursue research overseas; two Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Awards (plus one alternate), which put students in overseas classrooms to assist local English teachers; two Princeton in Asia Fellowships, for immersive work experiences in Asia; a Critical Language Scholarship, which sends students overseas to engage with a foreign culture and language; a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship honorable mention, which honors students who excel in science, math, engineering, or technology; two Goldwater Scholarship honorable mentions, which recognize students with outstanding potential in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering; and five French Government Teaching Assistant Awards, which send students to help teach in French classrooms for seven months.

“Our students have once again excelled themselves, winning this diverse range of awards in the face of stiff competition,” said Kelli Delaney, associate director of fellowships and academic advising, who assumed the role last year. “They worked hard on their applications and had help from some truly dedicated faculty and staff. These travel and work opportunities provide them with an excellent platform for their next study or career moves.”

The 2017 honors include:

Watson Fellowship
Carson Lyness ’16
Angelica Spearwoman ’16

Fulbright Research Award
David Balgley ’16 (Morocco)
Taili Ni ’16 (Taiwan)
Jess Wiken ’17 (India)

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship
Amy Bodner ’16 (Taiwan)
Melissa Meharg ’17 (Germany)
Corey Friedman ’17 (alternate)

Princeton in Asia Fellowship
Christine Anderson ’15 (Thailand)
Kieran O’Neil ’16 (Cambodia)

Critical Language Scholarship
Katie McGee ’17 (China)

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Matthew Moreno ’17 (honorable mention)

Goldwater Scholarship
Jordan Fonseca ’18, Lillis Scholar (honorable mention)
Lizzi Hahn ’18 (honorable mention)

French Government Teaching Assistantship
Clarissa Baldwin ’15
Sarah Cobbett ’17 (Lille)
Becca Duncan ’17 (Nantes)
Kaari Selven ’15
Rachel Skene ’17 (Montpellier)

The successful students were assisted by Puget Sound faculty and staff; by members of the Tacoma community who provided work, research, and volunteer opportunities; and by their families and friends.

The Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Fellowships, directed by Kelli Delaney, coordinates the student applications and handles student recruiting, interviews, evaluation, mentoring, and mock interviews.

The Graduate Fellowships Advisory Committee, chaired by Professor of Religion Greta Austin, reads applications, conducts campus interviews, and selects scholarship nominees. Committee members also include Katherine Smith, history; Mengjun Li, Asian studies; Kate Stirling, economics; Jeff Grinstead, chemistry; Rachel DeMotts; environmental policy and decision making; Peter Hodum, biology; and director Kelli Delaney. In addition, many faculty on and off campus provide indispensable assistance by acting as research advisors and mentors or writing letters of recommendation on the students’ behalf.

For more information about student fellowship and scholarship opportunities, visit pugetsound.edu/fellowships or contact Kelli Delaney at 253.879.3329 or kdelaney@pugetsound.edu.

Photos on page: Puget Sound students research in the lab and at Point Defiance Zoo and present posters at a research symposium. Photos by Ross Mulhausen, ��������.

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