Undergraduate Kurtz awarded Fulbright Student Award to Spain

By Ryan Thornton
Office of Media Relations
April 1, 2016

Krystal Kurtz, undergraduate double major in Spanish and English at Texas State University, has received a Fulbright Student Award to Spain for 2016-2017.

As a student of both Spanish and English, Kurtz will use her skills to help Spanish-speaking students learn English.

“I’m excited for this opportunity to go to Spain and work to enhance the English skills of native Spanish speakers, as well as act as a cultural ambassador for the United States,” Kurtz said.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. It is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries. In accepting the award, Kurtz will be joining more than 100,000 Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumni who have undertaken grants since the program began in 1948.

“I began the Fulbright application process back in August of 2015, and it’s rewarding to have the years of hard work that I have put in at Texas State pay off,” said Kurtz, who was Outstanding Undergraduate Student in the College of Liberal Arts last year.

Valentina Glajar, student Fulbright advisor at Texas State, said the application asks students for two essays, three reference letters, a high GPA, a language evaluation form in the primary language of the country being visited and, for the research grants, additional proof of foreign affiliation with an institution in the selected country. Students are then interviewed by the Texas State Fulbright Committee before being screened by the national committee. The host country ultimately makes the choice of which students will be selected.

“This is an opportunity that will open professional and academic doors for me both in Spain and the United States, and I plan to make the most of it,” said Kurtz.

In 2013-2014, Texas State was listed among the top universities that produced the most Fulbright Students, with three students selected for Fulbright grants for the school year. For more information on Texas State student Fulbright awards please visit www.modlang.txstate.edu/student/fulbright.html.