Senior Eric Shuman (Black Mountain, N.C. / Asheville Christian Academy) of the men’s swim team was recently chosen to receive the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship – the flagship international education exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government.
Shuman received the Fulbright Academic Psychology Grant and will spend nine months in Israel conducting research that aims to understand how to redirect the anger aroused by conflict to motivate reconciliation and peace.
The Fulbright Program, which is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, selects participants based on their academic merit and leadership potential. Through the program, students are provided opportunities for one academic year to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program currently awards approximately 1,700 grants annually in all fields of study and operates in more than 155 countries.
The Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by late Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and is sponsored by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
Shuman swam in the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships all four years, earning All-BGMC honors as a first-year. His 200 fly time of 1:54.13, that was set during his rookie season, ranks fourth on W&L’s all-time Top 10 performers list. This season, Shuman picked up four Top 5 finishes in individual events. His top finish came in the 200 fly (2:02.50) when he placed first at the Catholic & Marymount dual meet on January 18.
This release was provide to SwimSwam courtesy of Washington and Lee Swimming / Margaret Roy.
Best of luck in Israel, Shuman.
That’s two Fulbright Fellows in two years for the W&L men (Ryan Hartman – Kazakhstan) with a pair of NCAA post-grad scholarships earned in that same span (Chris Washnock and Brian Stirling)