Two OU students and one recent graduate will spend a year studying overseas after receiving Fulbright grants.

James O. Ellis III, Christopher Hobbs and Sandor Lau received the 1999-2000 grants.

Thirteen OU students competed with others across the country for the grants, said Karl Rambo, Fulbright adviser and adjunct assistant professor of anthropology. During the 1998 academic year, 4,423 students applied, Rambo said. Nine hundred awards are presented at the national level.

Ellis, linguistics and political science senior, will study for a year at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Ellis will study international security studies. He said his main interest, counterterrorism policy, was sparked by the Oklahoma City bombing.

"St. Andrews has the best program on terrorism in Western Europe -- possibly the world," he said.

Hobbs will study business and management in Finland on the Fulbright grant. He is a management information systems senior.

Lau's grant will take him to New Zealand to gather background information for a screenplay he is working on, Rambo said. Lau graduated from OU in December.

Rambo said applicants must complete two essays and an interview for the scholarship.

"It takes a lot of work to have a successful application," Rambo said. "It's not just good grades."

Maturity and the quality of the student's proposal carry a lot of weight, he said.

Rambo said awareness needs to be raised to continue the success of OU's participation in the Fulbright program.

"We need to have more students aware that these things are available," he said.

The Fulbright grant will provide tuition, transportation and living expenses for a year, Ellis said.

"It isn't just an academic study, it's a chance to be an ambassador overseas," Ellis said. "I see this as an opportunity as being an ambassador for the United States."

German graduate student Eric Hail received the teaching assistantship award for the Austrian Ministry of Education. Hail will teach English.

Although Hail was not chosen as a Fulbright recipient, his application led to his selection as the teaching assistant.

Robert Kinzie, education senior, was selected as the Fulbright alternate for Canada.

Tyan Carter, chemistry graduate, was selected as the Fulbright alternate for the Netherlands.

Ellis said this isn't just a lifetime opportunity.

"I think it's more like a once-in-two-lifetimes opportunity."
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