Alumni to study abroad on Fulbright awards

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Graham Ayres
Graham Ayres '16

Four recent graduates of UNH will be abroad this fall studying, teaching and conducting research through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, one of the most prestigious scholarships in the country.

Each year, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards grants to exceptional American students to study in more than 140 countries. UNH’s 2017-18 recipients include Graham Ayres '16, 
Onni Irish '16G, 
Laurianne Posch '16 and
 Garrett Thompson '16. During the past five years, 20 UNH students have been awarded Fulbright scholarships.

Onni Irish ‘16G
Onni Irish ‘16G

Graham Ayres '16, an economics graduate, will pursue a master's degree in agricultural economics at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. He also will volunteer on farms around the city through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), and will conduct thesis research on trade between Taiwan, East Asia and the United States.

Onni Irish '16G is headed to Tromsø, Norway, where she will conduct research at the K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea, University of Tromsø, as part of a project to examine the impact of Norway's ecosystem-based management approach in the Barents Sea. Irish completed the United Nations law of the sea training in the Faroe Islands and Greece. She received her master’s degree in ocean mapping from UNH in 2016.

Laurianne Posch
Laurianne Posch '16

Laurianne Posch '16, who received a community-based award unique to the Austrian Fulbright Program, will be in Klagenfurt, Austria, working part-time as an English teaching assistant at a secondary school, helping to carry out a community-based project for migrants and asylum seekers and taking classes in applied cultural studies at Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt. She earned her bachelor’s degree in German and international affairs at UNH in 2016.

Garrett Thompson '16
Garrett Thompson '16

Garrett Thompson '16 will be working toward his master’s of public health at the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, England, where he will study the effects of community paramedicine, a public health initiative using EMTs and paramedics to help underserved individuals access healthcare. After completing his studies, Thompson plans to return to the United States to attend medical school. He graduated from UNH in December 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology. (Read about Thompson’s cancer research — The Cancer Detective). 

The Fulbright student program is the largest U.S. educational and cultural exchange program, offering opportunities to engage in international graduate study, advanced research in foreign countries and English language teaching worldwide.

The UNH Office of National Fellowships provides assistance to students and alumni applying for national and international fellowships and scholarships. For more information, email Jeanne Sokolowski or call (603) 862-0733.