Graduates Offered Chance to Teach, Study Through Fulbright Awards

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program formally selected seven awardees from Ole Miss, bringing the university's total recipients since 1950 to 80.

"Our Fulbright awardees this year mark a major milestone for the University of Mississippi: we celebrated our 80th recipient, with 43 of those awards coming in just the past five years," said Vivian Ibrahim, director of the Office of National Scholarship Advisement. "I'm especially proud of this cohort, as it's the first time we've had more study and research awards than English Teaching Assistantships, which really speaks to the depth and ambition of our applicants."

The program offers opportunities for young professionals to teach, study or conduct research in more than 130 countries. This year's UM awardees have options to travel to multiple host countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Rwanda and Taiwan.

The awardees are:

• John Henry Amburgy, a 2026 international studies and Chinese graduate from Ocean Springs, who was also selected for a David L. Boren scholarship and the Yenching Academy of Peking University Fellowship
• Harrison Dillard, a 2025 history graduate from Memphis
• Sydney Guntharp, a 2026 political science and English graduate from Hernando
• Sarah Hall, a 2024 graduate in Chinese from Madison
• Patrick McCay, a 2026 graduate in biology from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Sam Sepe, a 2026 curriculum and instruction master's program graduate from Pittsburgh
• Daniel Sloan, a 2026 economics graduate from Taylorville, Illinois.

Catherine Simpson, a 2026 graduate who majored in biology and Arabic, is a semifinalist for a study award in Saudi Arabia.

Of the seven recipients, five received study or research scholarships. Hall's award will allow her to travel to Taiwan to earn a master's degree in teaching Chinese as a second language. It will be her third time studying in Taiwan.

"My decision to apply for Fulbright is directly rooted in my time spent as a student in the Chinese Language Flagship Program here at Ole Miss," Hall said. "Through the program, I was not only able to develop professional language skills in Mandarin Chinese, but I was also blessed to study abroad in Taiwan twice: first for a summer program and then for an academic year.

"My time in Taiwan left a lasting impact on me that has led me to continue to study Chinese here on a part-time status, and I have always had a strong desire to return to Taiwan someday."

Hall said her long-term goal is to teach Chinese in an international high school.

"Growing up, many of my friends were first-generation Asian Americans who did not have access to the resources to learn the language spoken by their families in a serious context," she said. "I think language and cultural preservation is becoming more important as globalization continues, and I would like to learn more about the most effective way to facilitate language learning in diverse contexts."

Guntharp and Sepe have the option to work as English teaching assistants in Bulgaria and Greece, respectively. Sepe said she plans to bring what she learns back to classrooms in Mississippi, where she hopes to become a leader in higher education.

"I believe the Fulbright Scholarship will help me succeed in the classroom in countless ways," she said. "Through my teaching experiences in Mississippi, I developed the belief that authentic learning begins with relationships.

"Teaching in Greece will allow me to apply and strengthen this philosophy within an entirely new cultural and linguistic context, ultimately shaping me into a more adaptable, reflective and globally minded educator."

Like any national award, the application process for the Fulbright Scholarship is long and sometimes arduous, Ibrahim said.

"To see that effort translate into 24 applicants, 13 semifinalists and 7 awardees this year – with one more still pending – is incredibly rewarding," she said. "We're just so proud of what these students have accomplished and the global impact they're poised to make."

Top: The university's 2026 Fulbright Scholars are (top, from left) Harrison Dillard, Sarah Hall and John Henry Amburgy, and (second row) Daniel Sloan, Sam Sepe, Patrick McCay and Sydney Guntharp. Submitted photos