Fulbright Predeparture Orientation for South and Central Asia at ASU
In January 2025, 45 ASU students and alumni are named as semi-finalists for Fulbright awards to 28 countries. 10 weeks later, they are awaiting news that may change their lives, and continue ASU’s record of outstanding success in this prestigious program. Among the 45 semi-finalists are eight members of the Melikian Center community, whose participation in research, study abroad and language learning has contributed to their global journeys so far.
For almost eighty years, the Fulbright program has commanded respect as the gold standard for educational exchange between the United States and 130+ participating countries around the world. Launched in the aftermath of World War II, the program’s aim was to reduce the risk of war among nations by providing what Senator and initiator J. William Fulbright envisaged as an “avenue of hope.”
Speaking in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1957, on the 10th anniversary of the program, Fulbright told his audience “Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations.” And when the program marked its forty-year anniversary in 1986, at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, he stressed the program’s cost-effectiveness, noting that “in the long course of history, having people who understand your thought is much greater security than another submarine.” Today, on the eve of the Fulbright program’s 2026 eighty-year anniversary, its advocates emphasize its role in making America smarter, stronger and more prosperous.
Among ASU’s semi-finalists is International Student Advisor Chris Schnecke, who earned a degree in Global Studies and a Russian and East European Studies certificate. He was also an undergraduate fellow at the Melikian Center in Spring 2020, researching the phenomenon of Yugo-nostalgia. “The Melikian Center has been an incredible support for me during both my undergraduate at ASU as well as during my professional career” recalls Schnecke, who plans to teach English in Kosovo. “It is thanks to the Center that I have been able to explore the intersection of art and politics in the Balkans on a deeper level.” If selected, he anticipates supporting Kosovar students interested in studying abroad in the U.S. by offering workshops on the F-1 and J-1 visas. Beyond this, Chris will draw on a decade of creative ceramics practice to work with Kosovar artists, learning from them their local styles of ceramic and sculptural art and in return teach them about ceramic traditions of the American Southwest.
In the summer of 2023, Global Studies students Arnulfo Acedo and Amber Sheardown traveled to Greece and North Macedonia on an SPGS study abroad program, led by Melikian Center Director Keith Brown and affiliate Henry Sivak. This immersive experience deepened their understanding of the region’s political and social dynamics. As alums, they are both now semi-finalists to teach English in North Macedonia.
Currently studying Portuguese in Brazil as a Boren fellow, Amber expressed her excitement about potentially returning to North Macedonia. “I am excited for the potential opportunity to return to North Macedonia as a Fulbright ETA and build on my past experiences in the Balkans” she says. “I look forward to working with students, mentors, and peers, learning from the community, and finding ways to connect through language and culture. The Melikian Center has been a huge help throughout my academic endeavors, offering language courses, scholarly advice, or just having a great support system. I am grateful for their guidance and encouragement along the way.”
Arnulfo’s experience in Macedonia, made possible by a Gilman scholarship, spurred him to learn more about the region, including participating in the 2023 Young Bled Strategic Forum as the first-ever U.S. student participant, and studying BCS at the 2024 Critical Languages Institute (CLI). Reflecting on his past work as a citizen-diplomat, Arnulfo writes “I look forward to continuing this mission and establishing efforts to promote diplomatic relations and cultural exchanges between the United States and the world, which can contribute to strategic partnerships and long-lasting relationships.”
Arnulfo is one of five CLI alumni selected as Fulbright semi-finalists—showing how prior language study can build toward global opportunities. After spending time in the Kyrgyz Republic, Andrew Dumenigo (CLI Russian ‘22 ) hopes to serve as ETA in neighboring Uzbekistan, where he’ll continue to pursue his passion for photography; while Adam Peretz (CLI Polish ’22) and Catherine White (CLI Polish ’24) both applied to teach in Poland. Jaik Havlick, (CLI Russian ’22), is a semi-finalist for a research award in the Netherlands, where he would study sociology.
Anna Pesheva rounds out the Melikian Center contingent of semi-finalists. As a Barrett Honors student, she partnered with Megan Joksimovic to research and communicate cultural and historical connections between the countries of the Balkans and the United States in a jointly-produced honors thesis project, BalkaninAmerika. The project was directed by Melikian faculty, and drew on interviews and input from a number of Center Advisory Board members. Anna applied to Croatia, where she also hopes to continue to explore the ties that unite the people of Southeast Europe, which has so often been misrepresented as a zone of perpetual conflict.
Senator Fulbright famously called education a "slow-moving but powerful force." In today’s fast-changing world, the ability to learn from others, and to build teams that integrate different perspectives, is more vital than ever. Fueled by intellectual curiosity, readiness for adventure, and a commitment to positive change, ASU’s Fulbright semi-finalists are on track to further expand their horizons for the common good.
Students interested in applying in the 2026-27 Fulbright competition can find information at https://onsa.asu.edu/fulbright For those who want to start their global journey right away, applications are also still open for ASU students to attend Critical Languages Institute, with first-year classes available in ten less commonly taught languages.