Liberty ushers in another record number of student Fulbright Semifinalists

Six students and three faculty from Liberty University have been selected as Fulbright Semifinalists this year, leaving them one step away from receiving the competitive grants to study and research internationally.

Liberty has maintained a strong reputation for helping students and faculty teach and research through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program and the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. This year, the university has recorded another record number of student candidates, with most of them applying to teach English.

“We have seen great success in a program that I think speaks directly to Liberty University’s mission in taking the light from our mountain and shining it for good across the world,” Helms School of Government Dean Robert Hurt said. “It is our hope and prayer that this program will continue to flourish and attract the highest quality applicants from our university.”

Student semifinalists and their intended Fulbright locations include: Lauren Dymmel (’22, linguistics — Latvia), Jonathan Dumdei (’22, international relations — Peru), James Knight (‘22, history — Romania), Zach Sechler (’22, education — Indonesia), David Walker (’22, divinity and business administration — Cambodia), and Brielle Marlow (’20, TESOL – Cambodia). The faculty lineup is Dr. Laura Jones, professor of Interdisciplinary Studies — Romania; Dr. Jaeshil Kim, associate professor of Modern Languages — Vietnam; and Dr. Mitch Morrison, professor and associate dean of the School of Aeronautics — (Estonia). Both Kim and Jones were semifinalists in 2021.

“So many people work hard to make the Fulbright program at Liberty University a success,” said Associate Professor of Government Edna Udobong, Liberty’s Fulbright Program advisor and scholar liaison. “(We receive) encouragement from Dean Hurt’s exemplary leadership, (and) invaluable support and the hard work of the 14-member Fulbright Committee at Liberty University.”

Finalists will be announced in May.

The Fulbright 2023-24 grant application is open. For more information, visit the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program and the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Contact Udobong at eudobong3@liberty.edu to learn more about the application process.