Honors College students Jones, Kotula named Fulbright semi-finalists

Kim Chaudoin  |  02/12/2022

The Fulbright Scholars Program is one of the most competitive – and prestigious – study programs in the country.

Each year, scholars are selected after a rigorous application process. In the last 15 years, Lipscomb University has produced 12 Fulbright Scholars, nine undergraduate students and three graduate students, and a total of 17 known overall.

This spring, Honors College students Schyler Jones and Danny Kotula have the potential to join that prestigious list as they have been selected as Fulbright semi-finalists. Jones and Kotula were named semi-finalists after their proposals were recommended by the US Fulbright organization and referred to the partner organizations in the home countries in the proposals. Fulbright finalists will be announced later in the spring. 

“This is a significant accomplishment. Both Danny and Schyler are outstanding individuals with incredible potential,” said Alan Bradshaw, director of the Honors College and professor of physics. “We are particularly blessed to have them as part of our Honors College and at Lipscomb University.”

The Fulbright is a prestigious scholarship sponsored by the U.S. State Department to foster mutual understanding between the United States and countries around the world. Students apply for the Fulbright award for one of two purposes: an ETA, or English Teaching Award, that will primarily involve teaching English in a country where the primary language is not English; or a SRA, or Study/Research Award, that will involve a specific study or research project, usually in connection with a foreign college or university. Applications go through a rigorous screening process by US authorities, and the best applications are recommended for consideration by the host countries. Those recommended applicants are Fulbright semi-finalists. The host countries then evaluate the applications and make the final selection of the Fulbright Scholars. 

An opportunity to make a difference

Jones, a triple major in Spanish, international affairs and history, has applied for an English Teaching Assistantship in Colombia. Part of her proposal involves work with a Colombian organization to promote equality for Colombian women.

“Being a Fulbright semi-finalist means that all the work I've been puttinging into my education and all the opportunities I've embraced are being acknowledged,” said Jones, a senior from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. “It means that I'm one step closer to a foundational life experience, and I could not be more grateful. Seeing the Lipscomb community support and encourage me has meant the world to me. I am thankful to God for the people on my path that have helped me so immensely along the way.” 

Jones will be teaching English to adults with the purpose of bridging cultural gaps and fostering understanding through language-learning. Additionally, her proposal includes working with Alianza IMP (Alliance of Colombian Women for Peace), which works with women who have been abused and experienced gender violence. Her work would promote gender equality in Colombia, to bring women to the negotiation table and to promote inclusion in all arenas, she said. Her daily tasks would include document translation, participating in meetings and learning how the organization works overall. 

Jones is very involved in campus life. She is in her second year as an intern in the Office of Intercultural Development, where she helps plan events and leads conversations “to help everyone feel heard on campus,” she said. She has also worked for the Office of Admissions and the Career Development Center, is currently president of UNICEF and vice president of Hablemos Spanish Conversation Club. Jones is also a member of BSU, ASA, Alpha Chi and Pi Sigma Alpha. In addition, she has also written for Lumination Network and earned an award at the Student Scholars Symposium. She studied abroad for a Maymester in Spain, a semester in Florence and a mission trip in Puerto Rico. 

The first time Jones visited Lipscomb was as a middle schooler attending Impact, and “even then I could tell how close the community was,” she said. “I chose Lipscomb because I felt at home every time I visited campus,” recalled Jones. “Each time I came back, I knew that Lipscomb was where I was meant to be. It was at Summer Scholars that I could tell that the professors genuinely cared about their students, and Lipscomb undoubtedly became my dream. Thankfully, that dream came true through the Trustee Scholarship.” 

“My experience at Lipscomb has been everything I expected and more. I have made lasting friendships and formed encouraging relationships with professors. I knew that my faith would grow while in college, but it has been challenged and formed in ways I never even knew was possible,” she continued. “My worldview has been expanded immensely, and I feel that Lipscomb has prepared me to enter the world with confidence.”

Jones credits the Honors College for providing her an environment that encouraged her to question the status quo and explore difficult topics in a fostering environment. 

“Dr. (Paul) Prill, the former Honors College Director, is the person who originally introduced me to the Fulbright, so I owe him a debt of gratitude,” she said. “Dr. Bradshaw has also been extremely encouraging through this process. I have treasured my four years here at Lipscomb and know that I made the right decision to be here and a part of the Honors College.” 

Following her hopeful Fulbright assignment, Jones said she plans to attend graduate school in an area related to international affairs or history with a goal of going into the foreign service and eventually becoming a college professor. No matter where she goes, she is dedicated to pursuing justice and building bridges among different countries.

Validation of purposeful idea

Kotula, a double major in public relations and Spanish, and has applied for a Study/Research Assistantship that will allow him to work with organizations in Bolivia and Peru to encourage the development of microbusinesses among the indigenous population. 

“I plan to use my background in public relations to help catalyze small business opportunities for indigenous people in Peru and Bolivia. Indigenous people are a majority in both those countries, but have poor representation in government and often live in rural areas with little access to opportunities to break the cycle of poverty,” explained Kotula. “Instead of trying to give them a culturally American solution or a ‘band-aid’ that temporarily solves one of a myriad of issues these people face, giving them the strategies I’ve learned to develop business and exposure will allow them to use what they already know to bring themselves out of poverty.”

Being said he has received a great amount of support from the Lipscomb community after being named a Fulbright semi-finalist .

“I’m so full of joy and appreciation for everyone who’s congratulated me and celebrated with me as I’ve reached this point in my Fulbright journey. I’m not sure I deserve all the praise I’ve received over the last week or so, but I’m overwhelmed by and thankful for such a response,” continued Kotula. “If I do get my Fulbright grant, I won’t be able to take much credit for it; it’ll be due much more to the contributions of so many people at Lipscomb and elsewhere who have poured into me and convinced me I’m capable of achieving great things, especially my parents. I owe everything, including any success with Fulbright, to them!”

Kotula said Lipscomb has diversified who he is professionally and has allowed him to become a well-rounded communications professional. While at Lipscomb Kotula started a personal blog called smallworld soccer as part of a class assignment, is the sports editor for Lumination Network and is the program director and sports commentator for The Bison, Lipscomb’s on-campus radio station. As a public relations students, Kotula has also had the opportunity to broadcast Lipscomb Academy high school football games and covering events on campus such as the Dove Awards and interviewing artists on the red carpet. Kotula’s work has received awards from the Southeast Journalism Conference and the Society of Professional Journalism.

A senior most recently from White, Georgia, Kotula chose to attend Lipscomb after being a part of Presidential Scholars Weekend.

“I got the sense that Lipscomb was a family and felt welcomed by faculty, staff and fellow students from day one. I’ve been so blessed by the community of people I know at Lipscomb, and they’ve made my college experience what it is and allowed it to be such an impactful time in my life,” he said. 

“Being at Lipscomb and engaging in so many ways on campus has been a feeling I’ll never be able to replicate. The Honors College gave me the chance to learn alongside the best and brightest students on campus and forced me to get out of my comfort zone, something that rarely happened to me in a classroom setting in high school,” continued Kotula. “The Honors College has also opened me up to opportunities like the Fulbright Program. If it wasn’t for (former director) Dr. Prill so consistently encouraging us to look into Fulbright as an option initially, I never would have taken it seriously.”

Following Kotula’s hopeful Fulbright assignment, he said he has a variety of opportunities to pursue in the public relations realm, with an initial goal of working the sports media and publication relations. “Whether I’m doing PR directly for a sports team, working as a sports information director for a university’s athletics program or using sports in a ministry capacity, I’m hoping to be working in sports as a career for however long God calls me to do so,” he said. 

Both Jones and Kotula credit a number of professors and staff for inspiring, encouraging and mentoring them while at Lipscomb. 

Fostering academic inquiry

For more than 30 years Lipscomb’s Honors College has been primarily committed to enhancing the depth of students’ intellectual experiences throughout their time at Lipscomb. 

“Those experiences include courses that delve into the most significant questions humanity faces with faculty who have dedicated their careers to those questions,” said Bradshaw. “This kind of learning environment encourages our most talented students to consider innovative approaches to the kinds of cross-cultural issues that the Fulbright supports, and we in the Honors College are thrilled to have the opportunity to support the development of those ideas.”

All nine of Lipscomb’s undergraduate Fulbright scholars in the last 15 years have been participants in the Honors College, and Jones and Kotula hope to add to that number. Bradshaw said students who are not involved in the Honors College are also able to apply for Fulbright grants.

“Any interested students should get in touch with me, as I serve as Lipscomb's Fulbright Program adviser. In addition, there are several other such scholarships that we would encourage our students across the disciplines to pursue, such as the Marshall, the Truman, and the Goldwater Scholarships,” he explained. 

Since the Honors College’s launch, more than 3,000 students have taken at least one honors class and almost 700 students are involved in honors study at any one time. Lipscomb Honors College alumni are now shaping our world at companies and institutions such as Microsoft, the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Learn more about the Lipscomb University Honors College.