Canisius students Eric Mietz ’13 and Jonathan Beck ’13 and alumna Kaela Glenn ’11 are the college’s most recent recipients of J. William Fulbright Scholarships.
Mietz is an international relations, German and European studies major. His Fulbright takes him to the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Austria to further the research he began in his All-College Honors thesis. Mietz will examine Austrian policies regarding European security policy and integration, specifically how Austria’s implementation of non-military foreign policy operations is carried out by intergovernmental organizations, such as the European Union, NATO and the U.S.
“Vienna is the home of many international organizations and offers a unique perspective for both advance study in international relations, as well as my interests in European security institutions and relations between the United States and Austria,” says Mietz, who plans to pursue a diplomatic career.
Beck is also an All-College Honors student who will use his Fulbright to continue his thesis research at Eberhard Karls Universität Tubingen, Germany. Here, the German, European studies and political science major will examine how the German Federal Constitutional Court’s decisions and interpretations of European Union (EU) treaties influence the development of future EU treaties and European integration.
“These questions are important even in the United States, particularly because we have such a strong relationship with the EU,” says Beck. “The Fulbright scholarship is the perfect avenue to bridge the gaps between Europe and the U.S. and to help more people understand how foreign governments work and what works best.”
Beck is fluent in German and plans to pursue a PhD in political science/government.
Glenn’s Fulbright afforded the early childhood/childhood education alumna to spend 10 months working and learning as an English teaching assistant in Malaysia. Her primary role was to help students improve their English conversation skills.
Glenn’s application ranked first among the Fulbright’s alternate list, and six months following her initial application, the J. William Fulbright Program in collaboration with the Institute of International Education, offered Glenn the opportunity in Malaysia.
“I literally had 24 hours to accept or decline,” recalls Glenn. “The choice was obvious, as working abroad has been a dream of mine for so long. So I packed up and moved to a country of which I had little to no knowledge. It was my first time out of the United States.”
Named for Senator J. William Fulbright, the scholarship is the U.S. government’s premier scholarship program designed to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges.
Glenn’s and Mietz’ Fulbright Scholarships bring the total number of Fulbrights awarded to Canisius students/alumni to 37, since 1987.
