Saint Mary’s Class of 2016 graduate awarded a Fulbright Scholarship

May 2, 2017 (Notre Dame, Ind.) – Saint Mary’s College is proud to announce Eleanor Jones ’16 of Valparaiso, Ind. has been awarded a Fulbright US Student Program scholarship to Mongolia to serve as an English teaching assistant and cultural ambassador for the US. Jones will be one of 1,900 US citizens to travel abroad for the 2017-2018 academic year through the Fulbright US Student Program. Her adventure begins in September and ends in June 2018. She is the ninth Saint Mary’s College student to be awarded the scholarship since 1965. Her classmate Meghan Flanagan ’16 received the scholarship in 2016.

“During my time at Saint Mary's there were many great opportunities to practice my intercultural competency: the Intercultural Leadership Portfolio Program, my study abroad experience in South Africa, participation in the SUSI Program, working in the Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership (CWIL), and, of course, my global studies coursework. These experiences inspired me to apply for Fulbright and, I believe, helped in my success in being awarded a grant,” Jones said.

Jones graduated from Saint Mary’s magna cum laude with a degree in global studies in May 2016. She was presented the Outstanding Senior Award by the Saint Mary’s College Alumnae Association. While a student, she spent a year in South Africa and made friends with students there, gaining a good understanding of the political and social contexts of the culture. When she returned, she took part in a gender and women’s studies course that runs parallel with the State Department-sponsored Study of the US Institute (SUSI) on Women’s Leadership held on campus during the summer.

During the SUSI Jones met young women from the Middle East and North Africa and befriended them in profound ways. Four participants from Jordan came up with the idea to start a cab service in Amman with women drivers for women passengers. Jones believed in their idea so wholeheartedly, she traveled to Jordan with a Saint Mary’s staff member and a professor to support the women as they pitched the business idea to US Embassy officials. Jones also led a fundraising initiative on campus to support the venture. She impressed the State Department so much that they featured her in a webinar and asked her to speak at a conference in Washington.

Also during her time at Saint Mary’s, she led a food recovery project that saved unused food from the Dining Hall and delivered it to the Center For The Homeless in South Bend. She also partnered with Dining Services to start a composting program.

“It will certainly be a great adventure to explore Mongolia and its culture,” Jones said. “Throughout the application process, the Saint Mary's community gave me an incredible amount of support and I would not have gotten the award if it weren't for those who helped me along the way.”

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the US government. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the US Congress to the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 140 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late US Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given approximately 360,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbright alumni have become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs, and university presidents, as well as leading journalists, artists, scientists, and teachers. They include 54 Nobel Laureates, 82 Pulitzer Prize winners, 29 MacArthur Fellows, 16 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, and thousands of leaders across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.

About Saint Mary's College: Celebrating over 175 years of empowering women to make a difference in the world, Saint Mary’s College is recognized as a pioneer and continued force in the education of women. A Catholic, liberal arts institution in Notre Dame, Indiana, the College offers more than 50 undergraduate academic programs and also offers co-educational master’s degrees.