AZUSA, Calif. — Each year, hundreds of students compete for the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship, but only a select few receive the award. This year, Azusa Pacific University student and San Ysidro, Calif. resident Alcira Ascencio was one of four APU students to receive a Fulbright Award.
Ascencio will graduate from APU July 30 with a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology: Marriage and Family Therapy. She received a research grant and will work in Jordan for nine months beginning late August. Her research focuses on the core identity formation elements and attitudes towards the counseling process of Arab people.
Ascencio joins 14 APU alumni who have studied abroad with a Fulbright Grant, who have lived in countries like, Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Romania, Slovakia, Tunisia, and Turkey. Most received English Teaching Assistant (ETA) scholarships or research and study grants to Asian countries, the experience is one that is valuable and has a great impact on the participants.
"The Fulbright Award offers students a wonderful opportunity to live and study abroad for an academic year and be immersed in another culture. They bring back many experiences that prepare them for further graduate study or employment and enables them to be a bridge between the American culture and their host country," said Diane Guido, Ph.D., vice provost for undergraduate programs.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and offers scholarship opportunities for recent graduates, postgraduate candidates, and developing professionals and artists to conduct career-launching study and research abroad. Each year, Fulbright offers more than 1,200 American grantees the ability to study abroad. Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program aims to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries, through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills.
