Valparaiso University football player Sterling Summerville has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright grant to continue his international studies next year while making a contribution to the culture of Poland.

Summerville, who will complete his undergraduate studies at Valparaiso at commencement on May 19, is one of three Valparaiso students to earn Fulbright grants this year, joining Halina Hopkins and Hannah Scupham.  As recipients of the Fulbright award for 2013-2014, thestudents will have the opportunity to use their skills within a new environment and broaden their experiences.

“I am very pleased to see the hard work, dedication, and accomplishments of Halina, Hannah, and Sterling so deservedly well recognized by the Fulbright Program,” Valparaiso University Provost Mark Schwehn said. “This honor reflects the high academic standards that we hold for all Valparaiso University students, and I am confident that they will continue to succeed in their future endeavors.”

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Program annually awards grants to approximately 1,500 American students to study, teach English, and conduct research in more than 110 countries throughout the world. The grants allow students to bridge the gap between undergraduate studies and the workforce as they enhance their knowledge not only of other cultures, but of their own skills and ambitions.

“Hannah, Halina, and Sterling will be excellent teachers and ambassadors of the U.S. and Valparaiso University,” said Betsy Burrow-Flak, chair of Valparaiso University’s Department of English. “As the Fulbright program advisor, I have been honored to work with each of them and to see how their work and their mentoring by faculty and staff from across the University have flourished into these incredible opportunities.”

Summerville, an international service major from Indianapolis, has been offered an English Teaching Assistantship in Poland. He has just returned from a semester in Namibia and plans to pursue a career in foreign service or humanitarian aid. Already familiar with world travel, Summerville spent the summer of 2012 in the Republic of Georgia building leadership skills for Georgian youth through a program sponsored by the Georgian Ministry of Education and Science.

During his time at Valpo, Summerville has also been active in the University’s Office of Multicultural Programs, the Black Student Organization, Latinos in Valparaiso for Excellence, and the Peace and Social Justice Symposium Committee.