Two recent Nebraska Wesleyan University graduates have received the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.
Alison Greenfield of Murray, Neb., and Sam Trofholz of Columbus, Neb., have been awarded the Fulbright Scholarship, the flagship international education exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government.
Greenfield’s scholarship would have taken her to Indonesia for a year. Her travel has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she selected Indonesia for its beauty, linguistics and ethnic and religious diversity. Last spring, Greenfield studied in Preston, England at the University of Central Lancashire.
“Through that experience, I traveled the world by myself and made such close friendships with the people I lived with,” said Greenfield, an English major who earned her degree in May. “I had such an amazing experience.”
Greenfield plans to return to England before pursuing a degree in counseling.
Trofholz will travel to Germany in January where he will spend a year as an English teaching assistant. The international studies major was first inspired by a high school German teacher who made each lesson unique. He is also interested in his family tree with many of his ancestors coming from Germany. Last summer he studied at the Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Bavaria, Germany.
“My time abroad helped me become a more independent individual, whether I was navigating public transportation, or finding new places to shop and eat,” said Trofholz, who earned his degree in May. “After this experience I have been able to have a better understanding of what it means to really immerse myself into a different culture and language.”
Greenfield and Trofholz’s awards bring NWU’s total Fulbright Scholarship count to 59.