Fulbright Tradition Continues

From left, Peter Hawes, Michaela Sands, and Aubrey Elliott plan to study and work abroad thanks to their Fulbright grants. Photo by Karen Pearlman.

Three 2012 graduates received prestigious U.S. Fulbright grants this year.

Aubrey Elliott ’12, M.Ed. ’13 plans to spend eight months in Turkey as an English teaching assistant. “I’m really looking forward to learning a new language, teaching others, and experiencing life in another country,” he said.

Elliott has a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in secondary education. He was awarded two UMW scholarships, the Lester D. Crow Scholarship for Student Teachers and the Oscar H. Darter Scholarship in History.

The Culpeper, Va., native played on the Mary Washington rugby team, including one year as the team’s senior representative. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society.

Peter Hawes ’12 will head to Nepal this summer to teach English for a year in a rural school and assist the Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association.

“I am expecting it to be pretty challenging in a lot of ways,” he said. “I feel there is a lot I can learn from people who live in traditional communities like that.”

Hawes, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, graduated with honors in English with a concentration in creative writing. He was awarded the four-year Mary Janes Ahern ’46 Washington Scholarship and the LaVergne Tuck Woody ’48 Scholarship in English. The Centreville, Va., native was a co-founding officer of the UMW Outdoor Club and was active in on-campus life. He spent his summers and vacations at small-scale, sustainable farms in Virginia and Vermont and at local agricultural conferences.

Michaela Sands ’12, M.Ed. ’13 plans to spend a year teaching English as an assistant at a school in Thailand. Her Fulbright work will combine her bachelor’s degree in sociology and master’s in elementary education.

“I love traveling and exploring, so this is a great opportunity for me to explore the sociological and anthropological aspects of another culture,” Sands said. “This will be a great journey, both personally and professionally.”

At UMW, Sands received the Barbara Bishop Mann ’66 Virginia Educator Award this year. She volunteered with several campus organizations and was a member of the varsity cross-country team.

The Burke, Va., native received the Dorothy Dougherty and William Benedict Ross Scholarship in Education, the Cora Lee Kaufmann Scholarship, and the Mary Jo Kleiner-Phillips Scholarship.