Six remarkable, inspiring individuals have advanced to the 2022 Fulbright Award semifinals. Get to know them through these short profiles.
Luke Bertaux is a senior majoring in computer information systems, with a minor in cybersecurity. On campus, he works in the Office of Admission, On-Campus Housing and the peer tutoring center. Bertaux has been selected as a Fulbright semifinalist for an English teaching assistantship in Spain. If selected for the award, he hopes to teach English at a STEM-focused school in Spain while improving his own Spanish language skills. Bertaux also hopes to start a coding club as a way to engage his students.
Heath Fusco is a senior majoring in political science and Spanish, with a minor in law, policy and social justice. At TU, he is involved in Honors, Global Scholars and University Ambassadors. Fusco applied for an English teaching assistantship in Paraguay. Looking ahead to his career, Fusco aspires to work as a human rights lawyer.
Karen Vega graduated from TU in 2019 with a bachelor of arts in music and a minor in law, policy and society. At TU, she played flute for the marching band and wind ensemble. Vega currently lives in Tulsa and recently published her first YA novel. She applied to be an English teaching assistant in Spain. Depending on her placement, Vega will work with early childhood, elementary, middle or high school students, or even with vocational and university students. She also plans to start a community garden club for students and their families as her community engagement project, and she is excited for the opportunity to use her experience in the nonprofit and education fields to work with students and to be a cultural ambassador.
Ann Marie Flusche is a senior biology major with minors in biomedical engineering and chemistry. As a Fulbright scholar, she would be conducting research at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany. The focus of her proposed research project is the neuroprotective role of Aspartate and its potential for extending neuron survival by modulating neuronal function and metabolism. One of the primary goals of this research is to better understand the nature of Aspartate-mediated neuronal longevity for the benefit of improving neuronal function and survival during aging and neurodegenerative disorders. Ultimately, Flusche plans to pursue a M.D. or M.D./Ph.D.
Nevin Subramanian graduated from TU with a double major in finance and music, pre-law, in 2021. After graduation, he worked as a client advocate at the civil practice of Still She Rises, helping incarcerated mothers resolve Social Security legal issues and staving off housing evictions. A few months later, he joined Amazon as a legal assistant, specializing in governmental contracts both domestically and globally. If given the opportunity to be a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Indonesia, Subramanian hopes to combine his musical and teaching experience to create a learning atmosphere in which students feel comfortable incorporating music into their English learning experience. Ultimately, Subramanian wants to acclimate to an accepting, exciting culture in which he is able to reconnect to his first language (Bahasa Malay/Indonesia), while offering the unique learning perspective of an immigrant who has spent his life on the intersection of Malaysian and American culture.
Adam Walsh is an English, history and German triple major with a certificate in classical studies. He currently works as managing editor of The Collegian, TU’s student newspaper. Walsh plans to graduate in May and hopes to be accepted into the Fulbright program serving students in Germany as an English teaching assistant. His primary goal involves bringing the English language beyond the classroom and into the personal lives of students and their families through the development of new programs that exemplify the nature of translation theory. He also looks forward to taking advantage of teaching in a country famous for its board game culture, hoping to use this as a tool to aid students not only in their English language proficiency but in their thinking about what it means to be a bilingual individual in an increasingly cosmopolitan world.
Notifications of awards are expected in January 2023.
If you are interested in applying for a Fulbright or other major awards, TU’s Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships is ready to get you on your way!