PROVO, Utah—February 12, 2021—Three Brigham Young University students and alumni are semi-finalists for the 2021-2022 Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the Fulbright Program offers recent graduates and graduate students opportunities for research, study and English teaching in over 140 countries. The goal of the scholarship is to promote international goodwill. The semi-finalists are listed below with their name, host country, grant type and project description.
- Ashlen Lemon, Cambodia, English Teaching Assistant Award
Having engaged with Cambodian communities in the U.S., Ashlen plans to use her knowledge of Cambodian culture and the Khmer language to promote cultural understanding in her role as an English teacher.
- Natalya Nielsen, Sweden, Study/Research Award
Natalya hopes to pursue a Master of Arts in Literature, Culture, and Media with a focus on Swedish and Danish literature at one of Sweden’s top universities prior to pursuing a Ph.D. in Scandinavian Studies.
- Orion Weller, Israel, Study/Research Award
Orion hopes to continue his research in natural language processing, a subfield of computer science, linguistics, and artificial intelligence, working to make these methods more efficient.
This year, more than 11,000 students from over 700 institutions applied for one of the 2,200 grants. Recipients of the Fulbright awards are selected based on academic achievement, a record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields.
The Fulbright is a natural fit for BYU students, many of whom have a deep interest in cross-cultural engagement and value international experiences. Interested students are invited to contact James Mayo, at james_mayo@byu.edu or The Office of Prestigious Scholarships, at national.scholarships@byu.edu. Students should plan to attend a virtual information session this spring on April 2, 2021, at 11:00 a.m.
For more information about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, visit
