University of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113, (312) 996-3456, www.uic.edu/depts/paff

April 5, 2000

Contact: Amanda Mazur (312) 996-7681; amazur@uic.edu

UIC STUDENTS RECEIVE FULBRIGHT AWARDS

Two University of Illinois at Chicago Honors College students have been awarded Fulbright Fellowships.

Haley Naik and Kyle Rimkus are among this year's select group of student and professional applicants to receive the awards that enable them to teach or conduct independent research abroad for up to one year. Naik was awarded a Fulbright to study in the United Kingdom, while Rimkus will study in Austria.

Naik, an Oak Brook resident, was one of only 20 students to receive a United Kingdom Fulbright and one of over 500 applications for that particular award. Last June, Naik was named one of Glamour magazine's "Top 10 College Women of 2000" for her research in human genetics. In February, she was named to the second team of USA TODAY's All-USA College Academic Team.

Naik is a biochemistry major and will graduate in May. She is currently looking for a master's program in the United Kingdom that will match her interests. Rimkus, a Frankfort, Ill. resident and German major, was one of 22 students to receive a Fulbright to study in Austria. He plans to work as a teaching assistant in an English department of a local high school in Vienna and will research and translate the works of author Adalbert Stifter.

"We are very proud of Haley and Kyle," says Beth Powers, UIC director of special scholarship programs. "Fulbrights are highly competitive awards, and these students have worked extremely hard to excel in their chosen fields."

Each year, the Fulbright program allows Americans to study or conduct research in over 140 nations.

The award provides students with the opportunity to benefit from participating in an international experience. The fellowships are funded by the United States Information Agency and by donors from different countries.

Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former-Sen. J. William Fulbright, D-Ark., the Fulbright program was designed to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges.

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