Birmingham-Southern College
Rachel Buchan, a religion and psychology double major and Harrison Honors Scholar at Birmingham-Southern, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study abroad for a year.
Sponsored by the U.S. State Department, the Fulbright program is the nation’s largest international exchange fellowship program, providing about 1,500 study grants and English teaching assistantships each year to college seniors, recent graduates and graduate students.
Thousands of applicants competed for the awards for the 2014-15 year. Scholars are chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential.
Buchan was selected for a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in Turkey, where she will teach at the university level. Beginning this fall, she will spend at least 20 hours per week in the classroom teaching and the rest of the time preparing her lessons, conducting research and exploring the region.
“I’m honored by the opportunity to join the multitude of students who have represented the U.S. abroad through the Fulbright program over the last 50 years,” Buchan said. “I look forward with gratitude to learning from those I encounter in Turkey and hope to carry on the profound commitment to academia that has been modeled for me at Birmingham-Southern: one of fearless inquiry, selfless service and abiding love for one another.”
This will not be Buchan’s first time overseas. She studied in China the summer before her senior year. She also has participated in various English language teaching opportunities and community service initiatives in China and India since she graduated from Crossroads Christian School in Birmingham.
After her graduation from Birmingham-Southern in May, Buchan hopes to do a summer internship at a law firm. After her Fulbright experience, she plans to return to the U.S. and continue in the field of academia.
Buchan’s grandparents are George Jones and Sue Poe Jones of Birmingham and Don Brown of Tuscaloosa.
University of Alabama
The following local residents recently were initiated into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines:
Cottondale: Kaylan Jackson.
Gainesville: Sylvia Turner.
Northport: Tommie Syx and Emily Walker.
Tuscaloosa: Amber Bara, Laurel Billings, Amy Blood, Katharine Drake, Cassidy Ellis, Alex Heatherly, Logan Holley, Paul Landry, Kathryn McMahon, William Morgan, Meridith Rice, Carson Roberts, Bryan Sexton, Alexander Tankersley, Jenae Yarborough and Samwel Oyier Zephaniah.
Winfield: Makenzie Mann.
These residents are among around 32,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors, taking at least 72 semester hours, are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.