Contact: James Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss.—A Mississippi State University student and a recent alumna will both travel abroad this year after being named finalists in the U.S. Student Fulbright Program.

Andrew House, a senior from Kennedy, Alabama, double majoring in wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture, and biochemistry, will begin graduate work this fall at Finland’s University of Turku. Bailey Bullock, a 2016 MSU sociology graduate and Crystal Springs native, will participate in the Student Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program in Colombia.

David Hoffman, an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures, helped guide House and Bullock through the application process as MSU’s Fulbright Program Administrator.

“Andrew and Bailey are outstanding students whose successful applications to the U.S. Student Fulbright program are a product of the world-class research and teaching being conducted at Mississippi State,” Hoffman said. “Both students took advantage of close mentorship and training opportunities provided by MSU, building skills and a knowledge base that are essential to the promotion of mutual understanding and the development of international partnerships, which is the core mission of the Fulbright program.”

House plans to study fish genomics at the University of Turku, specifically examining Atlantic salmon while pursuing a doctorate. During his time at MSU, House has worked in the university’s Hoffmann Biological Sequence Laboratory and the Amphibian Reproductive Research Laboratory. His research has been presented in London, Denver, Colorado, Vicksburg and at MSU’s Undergraduate Research Symposium.

The Alabama native has served in leadership roles in student organizations on campus. He is currently the president of the MSU Chapter of the Wildlife Society; he founded a Men’s Club Volleyball team and served as the club’s president. House also was a member of the MSU Fashion Board for four years.

“The support from the university is the main reason I applied for a Fulbright,” House said. “I’ve been placed in very diverse situations, which have allowed me to expand my views. MSU has provided opportunities that have bettered me as a researcher and as a person.”

Bullock will serve as an English teaching assistant at a Colombian university. She currently is working in a dual-language elementary school in Boston as part of the AmeriCorps City Year program. After completing the Fulbright program, Bullock plans to pursue a doctorate in sociolinguistics. The fluent Spanish speaker said she has been fascinated with languages since high school and her time studying sociology helped her understand the social and cultural implications of languages and their variations.

At MSU, Bullock received a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL). She took part in the Day One Leadership Program and Montgomery Leadership Program, in addition to serving as a resident adviser for two years. Bullock presented her research on bilingual identity at the MSU Undergraduate Research Symposium and the National Association for Ethnic Studies annual conference in 2015.

“As a student, I could apply my interests in sociology and linguistics,” Bullock said. “I was involved with different international programs and many of my residents when I was an RA were international. MSU prepared me to think in a global way.”

The Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College helps qualified students receive competitive national awards through its Office of Prestigious External Scholarships. For more, visit  www.honors.msstate.edu/scholarships/index.php.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.