Student success goes global

Ori, graduated this spring with a double major in medical sciences and French and will continue her studies as a Fulbright Study Research/Grant recipient at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

Ori will be at the institute investigating a hypervirulent strain of bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae, which leads to infections and is well known in hospitals. It is spread through person-to-person contact largely impacting patients on ventilators, catheters or recovering from surgery wounds. 

Ori had previously interned at the Pasteur Institute and will now return using her Fulbright grant to continue her research.

“I will be using the clones that I produced during my internship this summer to create mutations in the bacteria to be used in further studies,” says Ori.

Ori also spent six weeks in UC’s French Immersion program working in the UC Department of Romance and Arabic Languages and Literatures. 

“Andrea is a perfect candidate for the Fulbright,” says Anne-Marie Jezequel, UC associate professor educator of French, who oversaw Ori’s studies at the University of Caen in Normandy, France, during a 2017 summer study abroad. “She is an excellent student and really immersed herself, not only in the language, but in the French culture.”

Upon completion of the Fulbright, Ori will be attending Johns Hopkins University for graduate studies leading to a doctoral degree in biophysics. 

Bright graduated UC with a teaching degree in 2018 and will spend the next academic year in Athens, Greece, as a Fulbright English teaching assistant and SAT math prep tutor to English-speaking students who want to pursue higher education in the U.S. 

Bright’s interest in Greek history took root in high school where she says her studies in Greek literature and mythology such as “The Odyssey” by Homer made the culture come to life. “I was obsessed with these dark, fantastical, fairy-tale stories and intrigued that a country had such beautiful tales as part of its history,” says Bright.

“They incorporate the old with the new so well there so the Fulbright trip feels like a great fit for learning about another culture.”

While in Athens, Bright plans to immerse herself in the Greek culture, learn the language at a local university and travel around Europe during her winter and spring breaks. 

Elleman, a rising junior in UC’s Medical Sciences Program, recently completed a four-week Fulbright UK Summer Institute study program known as Education for Transformation at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. 

“Studying in the postconflict environment of Belfast helped me to understand the underpinnings of violence and how division does not necessarily resolve with an end to warfare,” says Elleman.

“For agreement to take place between differing parties, it is necessary for one to recognize and legitimize the identity of the other, making identity a complex issue.

“In my opinion, educating the younger generation is one of the most integral parts to initiating long-term change in a society. The open-mindedness of children may allow them to embrace new ideas and to look past biases forged by generations before them,” she adds.

As president of UC AmeriCats, a veterans and military support group, Elleman says her time in Belfast also gave her a better understanding of the needs of veterans, military personnel and civilians who have experienced the effects of violence.

Featured image at top: UC students enjoy the view as they boat down the Amazon River on a study abroad trip to Brazil. photo Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services