Six scholarship winners head to US colleges

SIX nationals will attend various universities across the US after they were selected for this year's Fulbright Scholarship Awards.

Those selected are Gabrielle Mollineau, Gabrielle Motilal, Regina Seabrun, Nirvana Mahabir, Lori Selby and Dr Renee Figuera. The six will do graduate-level programmes in their respective fields. Four will do master’s degrees, one a PhD and the last a fellowship in teaching English as a foreign language.

Those studying for their master’s will be Mollineau in public health at Tulane University; Motilal in material science at the University of Florida; Seabrun, entertainment management at Full Sail University; and Mahabir, veterinary science at Texas A&M University.

Selby will do a PhD in statistics at Rice University and Figuera a fellowship in teaching English as a foreign language.

In a media release on Wednesday, the embassy said since it started in 1946, the Fulbright Scholarship provided more than 390,000 students worldwide with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

It said, “Over 500 Trinidad and Tobago nationals have participated in the program since its inception. Led by the US government, in partnership with 49 bi-national commissions and 160 countries worldwide, the distinguished Fulbright Program offers international educational and cultural exchange programs for passionate and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach, or pursue important research and professional projects.”

US chargé d’affaires Shante Moore congratulated the awardees on their accomplishments and encouraged them to enjoy their study-abroad experience during their pre-departure orientation on July 21 at the embassy.