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Biology Student Named Fulbright Summer Participant

Biology Student Named Fulbright Summer Participant

Published

A first-year biology student has been selected as a Fulbright summer institute participant.

Matt Schmitt, of Lincoln, will spend four weeks this summer at Durham University in the United Kingdom. The Fulbright Summer Institute provides undergraduates with at least two years of undergraduate study left to complete to come to the UK for academic and cultural programs. Nine summer Fulbright programs are offered with three to 10 students selected to each program.

While in the United Kingdom, Schmitt will participate in a major archeological project playing a full part in the excavations. He will also participate in onsite seminars and workshops with experts in archeological and cultural history.

Schmitt — who hopes to become a geriatric physician — said the opportunity will also satisfy his interests in history and archeology.

“I hope it will enhance my critical thinking, help me learn more about another culture, and develop me more as a global citizen,” he said. “Understanding history and other cultures can be like figuring out a puzzle, much like diagnosing diseases. Plus exposure to other cultures will give me a different perspective, helping me become a more empathetic physician.”

Schmitt is the second NWU student to be selected to the Fulbright Summer Institute. Last summer Ross Mumford of Elmwood was selected as a Fulbright summer participant and studied theatre at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.