Senior Julia Ward of Elizabethtown College recently received a Fulbright Scholarship. She graduates next month with a double major in political science and political philosophy and legal studies.
The Fulbright Scholarship was established in 1946 and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This prestigious award is designed to allow students, from the 155 participating countries around the globe, to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. It emphasizes multicultural exchange in a rigorous academic setting, or as Ward puts it, “the academic version of the Peace Corps.”
This is a very rare and exciting opportunity for Ward to expand on her senior thesis. She focused on the female aspect of politics senior year, which blends perfectly with the country she received the grant for. “Gambia has a unique situation with female politics,” Ward said.
This will allow for first-hand experience and insightful information into a topic she feels passionate about. Following graduation, Ward will travel back to the Gambia, where she will be anywhere from four to ten months. While there in the past, she volunteered for the Alliance for Democracy and as a teacher at the Sheikh Mass Kah Senior Islamic Secondary School.
Besides expanding on her thesis, this time she will also work at a legal assistant center. “It seemed like a perfect fit,” Ward said. “Before going to Gambia in 2011, I did not know what I wanted to do with my life. This assistant center seemed like a perfect fit.” The center is home to a wide variety of extremely capable lawyers, who do a vast amount of pro bono and nongovernmental organization work.
Deciding how to use the scholarship is an important thing to figure out during the application process. Etown staff played a major role in facilitating that process. “I never even considered applying before Dr. Kyle Kopko had mentioned it,” Ward said. Kopko, an assistant professor of political science and the director of the pre-law program at Etown, was instrumental to Ward’s success.

Help also came in the form of committee meetings. These meetings were designed to help shape the trajectory of what she wanted to do with the scholarship and the application process itself. The entire political science department was extremely supportive of Ward and helped her shape the thesis, which is the foundation of her study. Dr. Amy Milligan, Susquehanna Valley Ministry Center (SVMC) program coordinator and registrar, Etown alumna and recipient of this award, also helped Ward decide how to take advantage of this opportunity.
The College has been very effective in facilitating grant awards. The College has established a Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships program, which helps students identify and be nominated for grant awards such as the Fulbright Scholarship. The second strategy of the National Recognition goal of the College’s strategic plan also had a direct impact.
Winning this award means a lot to the entire Etown community. It shows that the College’s diligence, strategy and dedication to student success is exceeding expectations. This award is exactly the kind of thing the College pushes students to achieve.
“I hope it shows that Etown has students who are fully capable of awards such as this,” Ward said. “It is easy to miss out on opportunities like this. The College does a great job of encouraging students to excel.”
Ward is currently hoping to finish out her time in the Gambia, and then continue to do research and work there. She will use the experience and knowledge from the Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a joint master’s and law degree to study international law, with an intended focus on gender relations and human/political rights.