Photo courtesy of Jennifer Zenovich

Fresno State communication student Jennifer Zenovich was recently awarded the Fulbright Award and is now studying in Montenegro.

The purpose of the Fulbright program is to award students with scholarships to help them further their education in other parts of the world. The program was designed to improve and sustain good international relations between the United States and other countries.

Zenovich, 22, graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in political science and is now making the Fulbright experience a part of her master’s degree in communication.

“I am very lucky to have been awarded a Fulbright to study in Montenegro,” Zenovich said. “But at the same time, I worked very hard with my mentor to make sure my application was strong enough to be considered.”

Zenovich and her advisor, intercultural communication professor Shane Moreman, worked together for about five months to ensure that Zenovich was as prepared as possible.

“We spent the weekends working together,” Moreman said. “I remember one Saturday she came over to my house at 10 a.m. and didn’t leave until 8 p.m. She is a steadfast, very focused individual.”

In Montenegro, Zenovich will be studying women in a post-communist environment and how they view themselves.

“These experiences are going to help shape who she becomes later in life,” Moreman said. “For someone her age to go abroad and experience a different culture for a whole year is life changing.”

Zenovich will be in Montenegro interacting with the people and learning their language for one year. She will then return to the U.S. to construct her thesis based on her research results.

Fresno State recreation major, Stacy Chan recently traveled to Thailand on a mission trip.

“I think that being able to travel and see a completely different culture is a good experience,” Chan said. “When you get back from your travels, you sometimes see your world a little differently.”

Whether it’s traveling for a mission trip or with the Fulbright program, studying abroad can be the experience of a lifetime.

The International Education of Students conducted a study that found 76 percent of students who traveled abroad “acquired skill that influenced their career path.”

The same study also discovered that 98 percent of students who travel abroad said that their travels helped them to “better understand [their] own cultural values and biases.”

The Fulbright program’s website, describes the organization as the flagship of international exchange scholarships. The U.S. partners with 155 governments worldwide to support the program.

Other countries involved in the program include Afghanistan, Russia, Ireland and Israel.

The Fulbright program was started in 1945 by former senator J. William Fulbright from Arkansas. Fulbright served as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and served in the U.S. Congress for 30 years.

Since then, 43 Fulbright alumni from 11 countries have been awarded the Nobel Prize and 78 alumni have received Pulitzer Prizes, according to the Fulbright website.

The program awards about 1,600 American students, 4,000 foreign students, 1,200 U.S. scholars, 900 visiting scholars and several hundred teachers and other professionals. Approximately 8,000 grants are given annually.

Students from different fields including science, business, public service and other academic fields are encouraged to apply.

Fulbright Award applicants must be U.S. citizens with a bachelor’s degree. It is also helpful if the applicant can speak the language of the country they intend to travel to.

Although she already speaks English and Spanish, Zenovich is now learning Montenegrin.

“Jennifer’s generation will have to start becoming more globally experienced,” Moreman added. “She will be ready for a market place we can’t even imagine. One that hasn’t even been created yet.”