WT Announces Fulbright Award for 2021-2022 for Tulia native

University Contact: Chip Chandler, senior communications specialist, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Contact:  ECA-Press@state.gov

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University is pleased to announce that Alondra Villa has received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Program award for the 2021-2022 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

As a Fulbright participant, Villa will study, conduct research, and teach abroad for the 2021-2022 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected in an open, merit-based competition that considers leadership potential, academic and/or professional achievement, and record of service. As Fulbright alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed alumni, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 39 who have served as a head of state or government.

Villa, a May interdisciplinary studies and education graduate from Tulia, will work at the Centros Integrados Formación Profesional As Mercedes in Lugo in the Galicia region of Spain.

“We are grateful that Fulbright consistently recognizes distinctive academic talent at West Texas A&M University,” said Dr. Neil Terry, executive vice president and provost. “To be selected for a Fulbright award is an outstanding achievement, and I know that Alondra will make the most of this prestigious opportunity.”

WT is proud to see Villa join the group of Fulbright alumni from the University, said Carolina Galloway, director of WT’s Study Abroad and nationally competitive scholarship programs.

“We hope her story will motivate other students to pursue similar opportunities,” Galloway said. “WT students have what it takes to compete for and receive national awards like Fulbright, and we are here to support and assist them in the process.”

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is administered at WT through the Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships. Anyone interested in applying for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program or other nationally competitive opportunities, or in learning more about such opportunities, can contact Carolina Galloway at cgalloway@wtamu.edu. Additional information can be found at wtamu.edu/academics/nationally-competitive-scholarships/index.html.

“I’m from Tulia, just a half-hour from Canyon, and my entire life has been in the Panhandle. But I’ve always wanted to go out and experience something different,” Villa said. “I am excited for the challenges this opportunity will bring, for the new sights I’ll see and for the new people I will meet.”

Villa said it is thrilling to see that she is on the same playing field with top young scholars from across the country.

“It’s not that others have bigger dreams, it’s just that they have dreams that are different than mine,” Villa said. “No matter if they went to an Ivy League school or to WT like me, we’re all benefitting from this program.”

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs is pleased to announce that 2021 marks the 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program. Celebrations throughout the year will highlight the impressive accomplishments and legacy of the program and its alumni over its first 75 years, both in the United States and around the world. A dedicated 75th Anniversary website - www.fulbright75.org – is being updated throughout 2021 to showcase anniversary events and to facilitate ongoing engagement.  

Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from over 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright program is an annual appropriation by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.  

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright or contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Press Office by telephone 202-632-6452 or e-mail ECA-Press@state.gov.