Three University of Mary Washington alumni have been named recipients of the prestigious 2018 Fulbright grants, providing them the chance to travel and teach English around the world. Molly Bernhard ’14 will spend the year in Bulgaria; Destiny Williams ’18 will venture to Taiwan; and Molly Garthwaite ’17 will travel to India.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program that offers opportunities for students and young professionals to gain experience internationally. Approximately 2,000 grants are awarded annually for placement in more than 140 countries worldwide.
UMW has been named by The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the top producers of U.S. Fulbright scholars. This year’s awards bring UMW to a total of 22 student scholarships since 2006.
Since her 2014 graduation from UMW, Molly Bernhard has worked as a litigation paralegal at Crowell & Moring LLP, an international law firm in Washington, D.C. She soared through her UMW academics and earned her bachelor’s degree
in three years, which encouraged her to gain more work experience before pursuing a Fulbright grant.
“I am excited to use the Fulbright grant to further inform my work surrounding social justice issues,” said Bernhard. “I believe the program will provide a strong foundation for my future activist endeavors.”
While at Mary Washington, Bernhard competed with UMW’s Mock Trial team. She held internships with the Spotsylvania Circuit Court and the Fredericksburg Commonwealth’s Attorney office.
“The wealth of leadership experience I acquired at UMW gave me the skills to later coordinate two D.C. tutoring programs, which was instrumental to winning the Fulbright award,” said Bernhard.
Destiny Williams, who wrapped up her academic career at UMW in December 2017, will receive her diploma May 12.
An international affairs major, she minored in Asian studies and was a member of UMW’s Performing Arts Club. But it was her nine-week study at the Chinese Institute in Guilin, China, that changed her life and inspired her to return to Asia.
“Ever since my study abroad experience last summer, wanderlust has overtaken me,” said Williams. “I am constantly daydreaming about speaking Chinese on a daily basis and exploring new parts of Asia.”
Williams has had a passion for Asian culture since middle school and has studied Japanese, Korean and Chinese as well as Spanish. She has spent the past six years as a volunteer working with children and currently works with the CloseUp Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing America’s high school- and middle school-aged youth to politics and civics.
“I love kids and languages so it’s the perfect mix,” said Williams about her Fulbright award.
Molly Garthwaite, who recently finished student teaching with Spotsylvania County Schools, will graduate in May with a master’s degree in secondary education. A graduate assistant for the UMW Writing Center, she spent three years as a Writing Center consultant.
Earning her bachelor’s degree from UMW in 2017, Garthwaite majored in English and minored in practical ethics. She was a member of the Student Education Association, Phi Beta Kappa and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and has been on the women’s cross country and basketball teams.
No stranger to traveling abroad, Garthwaite spent her junior year studying at the University College Cork in Cork, Ireland. She’s ready to tackle the challenges of her upcoming year in India.
“I am drawn toward the possibility to become a part of and grow with a community that is so unfamiliar to me that I will have no choice but to learn from the students and fellow world-citizens that I will teach,” she said.
Nine UMW applicants applied for this year’s Fulbright award, according to Nabil Al-Tikriti, adviser with UMW’s Fulbright evaluation committee. In addition to the recipients, Lydia Grossman and Bernice Kear were named as Fulbright semi-finalists.
Other members of the Fulbright committee include Dianne Baker, Patricia Reynolds, Ann Witkowski, Melina Patterson, Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich and Rosemary Jesionowski. In addition to evaluating applications for feasibility and appropriateness, the committee advises and assists each applicant with the application process
