Six T&T nationals off to U.S. on Fulbright Scholarships

Alexander McLaren, PAO, U.S. Embassy; Whitney Cupidore; Jezelle Charles; Samantha Chaitram; Ambassador Beatrice W. Welters; Onika Henry; Rian Marie Extavour and Christian James

June 21, 2012: Six nationals of Trinidad and Tobago will leave for the United States on scholarships for 2012 under the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s premier international educational exchange program.

The students are Whitney Cupidore (Fulbright-LASPAU program at the University of Massachusetts, to pursue a Ph.D in Economics); Jezelle Charles (Hubert H. Humphrey Program at the Virginia Commonwealth University, to pursue a 10 month study in Forensic Science); Samantha Chaitram (Fulbright-LASPAU program at the University of Miami, to pursue a Ph.D in International Studies); Onika Henry (Foreign Student Program at Widener University, to pursue a Master’s in Education); Rian Marie Extavour (Fulbright-LASPAU program at the University of Georgia, to pursue a Ph.D in Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy) and Christian James (Foreign Student Program at the Columbia College of Chicago, to pursue an MFA in Film Studies).

At an orientation session held at the Embassy’s Public Affairs Section on June, 20 2012, Ambassador Beatrice W. Welters congratulated the students on their achievement and advised them to take full advantage of the opportunity they are being given with this scholarship. She hopes that they will use the distinguished honor of being a Fulbright scholar to not only achieve their personal goals but to also make a lasting contribution to Trinidad and Tobago’s society, upon their return.

The period of study varies for each program from 10 months to 4 years, depending on the type of degree they will obtain.