Sophomore Recognized with Udall Scholarship Honorable Mention

Santa Clara University is proud to announce that five Broncos, all from the class of 2023, have received Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Sebastian Acevedo, Rachel Chung, Teresa Contino, Octavio De Leon, and Ariana Tabrizi were selected through an open, merit-based competition that considers leadership potential, academic and/or professional achievement, and record of service. The Fulbright scholarships will enable them to spend the next year studying, conducting research, and/or teaching abroad in Iceland, Taiwan, the Czech Republic, Mexico, and Italy, respectively. Santa Clara has produced 60 Fulbright finalists since the program’s inception in 1946.

“I extend my warmest congratulations to these outstanding Fulbright scholars,” said Acting Provost Ed Ryan. “The Fulbright goal of creating connections in our complex and changing world is an ideal that runs parallel to Santa Clara University’s vision to educate citizens and leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion. These exceptional students are using their knowledge and faith to build a more humane, just, and sustainable world.”

The seven other Santa Clara students and one alumnus who reached the stage of semi-finalist are Hannah Hagen ’23, Noah Kuehn ’23, Grace Leete ’23, Calley Lwin ’23, Elena Middlemass ’23, Callie O'Neill ’23, Lucy Schmidt ’23, and Lauren Voss ’22.

Santa Clara University is also pleased to share that sophomore public health major Claire Alford ’25 has been awarded an Honorable Mention for the 2023-2024 Udall Foundation’s Undergraduate Scholarship. Udall scholarships are awarded in recognition of a student’s leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to Native American nations or to the environment.

About The Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program, the flagship international academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, has fostered mutual understanding between the United States and other countries since 1946. The program provides awards to approximately 8,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals each year from the United States and 160 countries. Fulbright is unique in its binationalism and noted for its merit-based selection process and academic prestige. Fulbrighters come from all backgrounds and are selected regardless of their race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, geographic location, socioeconomic status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

About The Udall Undergraduate Scholarship

The Udall Foundation awards approximately 55 scholarships annually to college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to American Indian nations or to the environment. The Udall scholarship honors the legacies of Morris Udall and Stewart Udall, Arizona politicians and brothers whose careers had a significant impact on American Indian self-governance, health care, and the stewardship of public lands and natural resources.

About Santa Clara University

Founded in 1851, Santa Clara University sits in the heart of Silicon Valley—the world’s most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University’s stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís. Ranked among the top 15 percent of national universities by U.S. News & World Report, SCU has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. SCU has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. For more information see www.scu.edu.

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