UofL continues streak of prestigious international scholarships

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With nine Fulbright U.S. Student Program Award grantees added this spring, the University of Louisville continues to have successfully placed more students in the prestigious study abroad program than all Kentucky public higher education institutions combined since 2003.

The UofL graduates or graduate students were awarded Fulbright grants for research/study or to teach English abroad in Jamaica, Finland, Belgium, Spain, Morocco and Taiwan.

The latest group, representing the 2021-22 award cycle, brings to 150 the total of Fulbright winners from UofL since 2003.

In addition, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, given to one college junior in Kentucky each year, was awarded to a UofL student in April.

“The winners of these prestigious scholarships will have opportunities abroad that will change their lives and promote international understanding,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “These students are the best of the best, and I am awestruck by their hard work and dedication to furthering their education. I also thank our staff members who helped these students win these opportunities.”

This year’s group of Fulbright scholars from UofL also made history: It includes one member of the first set of twins at UofL to both earn Fulbrights.

Manuela Botaka won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Belgium, where her twin sister, Noela Botaka, traveled last year on a Fulbright research scholarship. The sisters were born in Kinshasa, Congo, and grew up in Lexington, Kentucky.

The other Fulbright winners are:

Shakeyrah Elmore, of Columbus, Ohio, who will study postpartum depression in Jamaican women at the University of the West Indies Caribbean Institute for Health Research in Kingston, Jamaica. She is a graduate student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

Claire Gothard, of Louisville, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Morocco.

Macey Higdon, of Owensboro, Kentucky, who earned a graduate award to pursue a master's degree at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in biology of physical activity.

Kyle Landis, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Madrid, Spain.

Rolandson Le, of Louisville, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Taiwan.

Madeline McCloud, of Worthington, Kentucky, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Taiwan.

Reagan Miller, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Morocco.

Hannah White, of Eddyville, Kentucky, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Galicia, Spain.

The Fulbright Program, administered by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program.

More on these scholars and winners of several other prestigious academic scholarships can be found at louisville.edu/scholars.

For more information, contact Bethany Smith at bethany.smith.1@louisville.edu.

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Editors: Composite photo, l-r: First row: Claire Gothard, Hannah White, Kyle Landis. Second row: Macey Higdon, Madeline McCloud, Manuela Botaka. Third row: Reagan Miller, Rolandson Le, Shakeyrah Elmore. For individual photos, contact Janet Cappiello at janet.cappiello@louisville.edu. Photos courtesy University of Louisville.