DECORAH, Iowa - Sean Anderson, a Luther College 2011 alumnus from New Ulm, has been named a recipient of the Fulbright award for 2011-12 from the Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. He will serve as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Colombia next year.
Anderson, the son of Jon and Robyn Anderson of New Ulm, is one of approximately 1,500 American students who have been offered grants to study and conduct research in more than 150 countries throughout the world. Sponsored by the State Department, the Fulbright is the largest U.S. international exchange program, offering opportunities for students, scholars and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide. The program, established in 1946, was introduced to Congress by Senator J. William Fulbright.
Anderson is one of 12 teaching assistants supported by the Fulbright program in Colombia.
His Fulbright grant provides funds for travel, medical insurance and a small living stipend to live and teach in Colombia.
As a political science and Spanish major, Anderson will explore how the Colombian government is addressing the social effects of the large number of persons internally displaced as the result of social conflict.
In 2010, Anderson was selected as one of two scholars to study six weeks in Oslo, Norway, as a Nobel Peace Prize Forum Scholar. While in Oslo, Anderson studied political science at the University of Oslo and attended seminars focused on peace and conflict studies. He completed an individual research project focused on the Norwegian Refugee Council's alternative education programs for internally displaced people within Columbia. He presented his research at the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Luther College.
Anderson began planning for the Fulbright application with the guidance of Terry Sparkes, Luther director of college honors, in the fall of his junior year.
The Fulbright program is open to students of all majors, and Anderson was one of 10 Luther students who submitted Fulbright applications to the Luther honors committee.
Luther is a selective four-year college located in northeast Iowa. The college has an enrollment of more than 2,500 students and offers a liberal arts education leading to the bachelor of arts degree in 60 majors and pre-professional programs.
