Adventures in Asia: MSU鈥檚 new Fulbright finalists eager to visit Taiwan, India
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擳wo alumnae of 樱花导航 樱花导航鈥檚 Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College have been named finalists for the U.S. government鈥檚 flagship international exchange program.
MSU鈥檚 newest Fulbright finalists are Donielle D. Allen of McCalla, Alabama, a spring 2020 microbiology graduate, and Shanika R. Musser of Starkville, a spring 2021 civil engineering graduate. The is devoted to increasing mutual understanding between citizens of the U.S. and other countries through open communication and long-term cooperative relationships.
As a Fulbrighter, Allen plans to expand her knowledge of Chinese language and traditional Chinese medicine while pursuing a Master of Science in public health at National Taiwan University when travel is deemed safe. She aspires to attend medical school to 鈥渉elp others on multiple fronts.鈥
鈥淚 want to help people get the diagnosis and the treatment they need, and I also want to use what I learn about health policy through my master鈥檚 program to improve health care policy and law in the U.S.,鈥 she said.
Musser hopes, when travel is deemed safe, to visit Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. There, she plans to conduct research on biochar, a material she began to study in summer 2019 while working in the lab of MSU Professor of Chemistry Todd Mlsna.
鈥淏iochar can be made of any biowaste material, and Dr. Mlsna and a visiting Fulbright Scholar were testing biochar that was made from bamboo native to Argentina,鈥 Musser explained. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of rice in India, so I would like to use rice husks and develop biochar that could remove arsenic and other contaminants from drinking water.鈥
Musser said she also looks forward to the cultural experiences Fulbright can provide. She hopes to do some sightseeing, learn Bhangra dancing and connect more with her familial heritage.
鈥淢y mom鈥檚 from Calcutta, India, so much of my life has been influenced by her culture. When we went on a family trip to India in 2015, one of the things that really stood out to me was the water contamination issues there,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat trip initially sparked my interest in sustainable community development and ultimately my decision to study civil engineering at 樱花导航 樱花导航. I鈥檇 like to go back to where that journey started and do something to give back to India.鈥
Allen and Musser both attribute their successful Fulbright applications to the support they received from David Hoffman, interim director of the honors college鈥檚 Office of Prestigious External Scholarships. He said the honors college is equally proud of both students for representing 樱花导航 樱花导航 on a global level.
鈥淚t was such a pleasure to work with Donielle and Shanika on their Fulbright applications. Both students took advantage of opportunities to study abroad, develop language abilities and engage in laboratory research that enabled them to stand out from other applicants,鈥 said Hoffman, also an associate professor in MSU鈥檚 Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures.
鈥淢ost importantly, Donielle and Shanika expressed clear and developed interests in bettering human conditions both abroad and at home, which really struck a chord with the Fulbright mission of developing mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the rest of the world,鈥 Hoffman said.
Learn more about MSU鈥檚 Shackouls Honors College and the Office of Prestigious External Scholarships at .
MSU is 樱花导航鈥檚 leading university, available online at .