MSU students receive scholarships to do research abroad

Contact: Kristin K. Anderson, University Relations, (517) 353-8819, ander284@msu.edu

4/30/2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Four Michigan State University students have received Fulbright Fellowships, enabling them to further their educational experiences by researching such topics as AIDS and conservation abroad.

Three of the students currently are pursuing graduate studies at MSU. Kristi Klomp of Eagle and Aaron Russell of Heers, Belgium, are studying fisheries and wildlife within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Michelle Powell of Cedar Springs is studying epidemiology in the College of Human Medicine.

Julie Bashkin of Chicago also received a Fulbright. She graduated from MSU in 2003 with a degree in social relations from the James Madison College and a degree in Russian from the College of Arts and Letters.

Klomp is pursuing her doctoral degree in fisheries and wildlife. The U.S. Student Fellowship from Fulbright provided the opportunity for her to research in Jamaica for 10 months starting in October 2003.

Klomp is investigating the impact of a pesticide, which is used worldwide for agricultural purposes, on reproduction in reef fish.

“As a child growing up on a fruit farm, I recall the acrid smell of chemical pesticides and how the pond where these chemicals were mixed was disturbingly barren of frogs and tadpoles,” Klomp said. “As an undergraduate, I became fascinated with aspects of fish reproduction. Noting the decline in fish populations, I began to question what impact agricultural pesticides might have on coral reef fishes.”

Klomp participated in the Curriculum and Travel Grant Committee of the Fisheries and Wildlife Graduate Student Organization Newsletter. She received the West Michigan Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Coldwater Research Award. She was a teacher’s assistant for a course on resource management and planning.

Michelle Powell, daughter of Leon and Marilyn Powell, graduated from Cedar Springs High School in 1994. Powell is studying cognitive impairment among HIV/AIDS patients in Lusaka, Zambia, with her Fulbright Student Grant. She left in August 2003, and will return in June.

“I was led to this emphasis from my work with dementia patients at the Cognitive Disorders Clinic in the Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology at MSU,” Powell said. “The Fulbright has provided first-hand experience with some of the logistical, socio-cultural and political obstacles involved in conducting research in a developing country. Working in an HIV/AIDS hospice and traveling to local communities to visit patients has been extremely rewarding.”

Powell is a former staff member and graduate assistant within the MSU Department of Neurology and Ophthalmology.

Russell, son of William Russell and Jeanne Mesotten, graduated from Verdala International School, Malta, in 1994. The focus of his nine-month research program in Malawi is on how fishing communities along Lake Malawi are attempting to create informal and formal rules for the protection of fish breeding areas in the lake as well as in associated river mouths and lagoons. His goal is to better understand the factors that lead to success so it can be encouraged in other communities.

Russell was a recipient of the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship from the African Studies Center from 2000-03. He also received the MSU Incentive Fellowship. He expects to graduate in fisheries and wildlife from MSU in June 2005.

“There is no understating the value of the Fulbright as it has provided me with the opportunity and funding to travel and live in Malawi and pursue my research goals,” Russell said. “Through this opportunity, I am also able to make contacts with people who might facilitate future career options.”

Bashkin is studying history in Eastern Europe with her Fulbright Scholarship. She plans to continue her educational pursuits at the University of Chicago.

Fulbright grants generally provide transportation, language and/or orientation courses, tuition and book allowance, maintenance for the academic year based on living costs in the host country, a nominal research allowance, and health and accident insurance.

The Fulbright Program aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of people, knowledge and skills. Congress created the program immediately after World War II as a step toward building international cooperation. More than 96,000 Americans and 158,000 participants from other countries have participated in a Fulbright experience.

For more information, please visit the Web at www.fulbright.de/index.shtml