Baylor Adds Record-Extending 14th Fulbright, Two Boren Scholarship Recipients

May 4, 2022

Faith VanVleet, a senior University Scholar from The Woodlands, has received Baylor's 14th Fulbright this year, a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award (ETA) to Ukraine. She will spend her Fulbright year in Poland. (Robert Rogers/Baylor University)

Boren Scholarship recipient JosÃ© ArrÃ¡iz-Rada, a senior philosophy and international studies major from Katy, Texas, will study Mandarin in Taiwan at National Taiwan University. (Robert Rogers/Baylor University)

Boren Scholarship recipient Madeline French, a junior language and linguistics major from League City, Texas, will study Japanese at Hosei University in Japan.

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WACO, Texas (May 4, 2022) – Baylor University students continue the momentum of a record-setting 2021-2022 academic year of attaining some of the most prestigious national and international scholarships and awards, including another Fulbright and two Boren Scholarship recipients.

Faith VanVleet, a senior University Scholar from The Woodlands, has received Baylor’s 14th Fulbright this year, which has doubled the University’s previous record high of seven Fulbright recipients in 2019. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, with the goal to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

VanVleet, who has secondary majors in Slavic and Eastern European Studies and International Studies, received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award (ETA) to Ukraine. She will spend her Fulbright year in Poland, providing assistance to local English teachers while also serving as a cultural ambassador for the United States.

In addition, two students have won the prestigious David L. Boren Scholarship, an initiative of the National Security Education Program that provides unique funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests. The Baylor Boren Scholars are:

José Arráiz-Rada, a senior philosophy and international studies major from Katy, Texas, who will study Mandarin in Taiwan at National Taiwan University; and

Madeline French, a junior language and linguistics major from League City, Texas, who will study Japanese at Hosei University in Japan.

Boren Scholars represent a vital pool of highly motivated individuals who wish to work in the federal national security field. In exchange for funding, Boren Awards alumni commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

In addition to the University’s 14 Fulbright recipients and two Boren winners, five other Baylor students realized their aspirations by earning the Truman Scholarship, the Goldwater Scholarship, two Critical Language Scholarships and the Churchill Scholarship, the culmination of a record-shattering year for students in the areas of critical language study, STEM research, public policy and more.

Baylor students are supported by Baylor’s Office of Engaged Learning, which partners with students, in collaboration with faculty and staff throughout the University, to help them maximize their scholarship beyond the classroom, including applying and competing for prestigious scholarships, fellowships, internships and research experiences at the national and international level. Their success also aligns with the University’s recent reclassification as a Research 1 university, one of only 37 private universities with such a designation, elevating Baylor as a preeminent Christian research university.

“Behind every one of these students, you will also find a group of dedicated faculty and staff who have believed in them, mentored them, taught them and served them, which is the hallmark of a Baylor education,” said Andrew P. Hogue, Ph.D., associate dean for engaged learning at Baylor. “It’s also highly unusual among our peers at Research 1 universities to have world-class faculty producing at high levels while also pouring heart and soul into helping their students flourish.”

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.