School of Theatre Congratulates Cristian Mercado for Fulbright Student Award
Florida State University recently awarded Fulbright Student Awards to ten graduate students and recent alumni for the 2019-2020 academic year. Lacy Gillette, Department of Art History, and Cristian Mercado, School of Theatre were part of this elite group of individuals and will be spending the year conducting research projects abroad.
Administered by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Student Awards program offers grants for graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists to study, research and/or teach English in participating countries around the world for one year.
To have 10 Florida State University students and recent alumni recognized as recipients of 2019 Fulbright student scholarships indicates the high level of innovative research, global engagement and impactful service our students complete year after year. My hope is that our current undergraduate and graduate students will find inspiration in this current group of Fulbright recipients and consider their own potential to pursue a Fulbright as well.
– Craig Filar, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students and Director of the Office of National Fellowships
Cristian Mercado, 22, of Jacksonville, Florida, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Religious Studies from FSU in May. Mercado is involved in the English Teaching Assistant program, which places Fulbright scholars in classrooms abroad to assist local English teachers and to serve as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. Mercado will be teaching English in Yunlin County, Taiwan. After completing the Fulbright, he will attend George Washington University to pursue a Master’s Degree in International Affairs with a focus on East Asia.
I am very excited to have the opportunity to teach English abroad, particularly in East Asia. I hope to learn more about the relationship between Taiwan and mainland China and how it affects people on the ground level. I have found parallels between my home island of Puerto Rico and Taiwan and so I have a particular interest in this relationship. I also intend to begin my study of Mandarin which will help me in my future goals.
To learn more about Mercado and his fellow College of Fine Arts Fulbright scholarship recipient, read the article here.
read the full article from FSU News here.