Maverick Excellence Shines Internationally With Fulbright Recognitions

From Estonia to Germany to Finland to Uzbekistan to Pakistan, the U.S. Fulbright Program is bringing the world to UNO and UNO to the world.

This year, a current student, recent alumnus, and current faculty member were each selected as recipients of a Fulbright Scholarship or alternates.

Every year, hundreds of individuals looking to expand their knowledge through international engagement are selected to receive Fulbright awards. While thousands apply, only a small number of recipients receive funding.

Additionally, this semester UNO has been hosting its own pair of Fulbright recipients: two faculty members from Pakistan who are hoping to bring the knowledge they learn back to their campuses and communities.

Students

• Jazmyn Cruz
• Ottilie Cooper-Ohm

Alumni

• Grahm Peschel

UNO Faculty

• Christine Cutucache, Ph.D.

Visiting Faculty

• Javed Iqbal, Ph.D.
• Humaira Jami, Ph.D.

“The Fulbright program really does represent the best of the best when it comes to academic quality and social impact,” explained Lucy Morrison, Ph.D., director of UNO’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships. “It is no understatement to say that our students and our faculty are competing for these positions against a formidable field of applicants; the rigor, commitment, and motivation that each of these individuals have is truly remarkable.”

Questions about how to apply for a Fulbright? Reach out to the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships at unoonsf@unomaha.edu.

Jazmyn Cruz

Spending most of her life split between Bellevue, Neb., and her birthplace of Guam, Jazmyn Cruz has done a lot of traveling – but her first chance to travel internationally will come as part of a Fulbright Award to serve as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Germany.

“I’ve already been a mentor for Exploratory Studies and worked in the Writing Center so I have the gist of what it will be like to be a teaching assistant,” she said. “I plan to also work with students to develop an art club as part of my contributions.”

Cruz, who will graduate in May with a double major in English and German said she has always wanted to teach English in other countries. An essay she wrote in one of her German classes got her pointed in the right direction.

“I looked it up and it seemed difficult and that I didn’t have what it takes, but my mentor kept pushing me to apply,” she said.

Thanks to support from her mentor and the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships, Cruz will be fulfilling more than just a few bucket list items. She says while it may seem impossible, it’s worth applying and finding those at UNO who can support you along the way.

“The worst that can happen is you don’t get it, but you’ll never know until you try.”

Ottilie Cooper-Ohm

Status: Senior, IT Innovation
Destination: Uzbekistan

From Council Bluffs, Iowa, all the way to Central Asia, Ottile Cooper-Ohm wants to help educators do what they do better through the use of new and emerging technologies. Yet, she knew something was missing as she quickly approached the end of her time at UNO.

"I don't yet have the real-world teaching experience to feel comfortable telling teachers what they should be doing," she said. "I applied for the Fulbright because I wanted to gain that experience in a teaching position where I could use the skills that I already had."

Cooper-Ohm, who is also a Walter Scott, Jr. Scholar and a member of Maverick Productions, chose Uzbekistan in part because they needed English-language teachers who has specialites in the STEM field. It didn't hurt that she also speaks Russian.

While in Uzbekistan, Cooper-Ohm hopes that she will get the opportunity to teach computer science to young women. It's a passion she said is dear to her heart.

"In middle school I went to CodeCrush at UNO, a camp that taught girls about tech, and it totally reshaped the trajectory of my life."

Cooper-Ohm credits the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships with supporting her application and connecting her with campus resources like the Intensive Language at UNO (ILUNO) program to help get her classroom experience she could point to on her application.

Overall, she said the biggest peice of advice she could give is do your research, ask questions, and don't worry about making a couple mistakes along the way.

"Fulbright doesn't want applicants who are perfect all of the time, they want people who are flexible and learn from their mistakes."

Grahm Peschel

Status: UNO Alumnus
Destination: Estonia

A native of Lincoln, Neb., Grahm Peschel has always had a desire to travel the world.

While earning his degree in physical geography, which he graduated with this past August, Peschel had made plans to study abroad in Norway, but what was meant to be a year-long residency was cut short due to COVID. Now, he has a chance to spend a full year in Estonia as an ETA as an alternate, meaning if someone with a current award cannot go for any reason, he would go in their place.

“I became interested in applying for the Fulbright after my graduation when I was looking for opportunities to return abroad for an extended period of time so I could become an integrated part of a foreign culture and community,” Peschel said.

Peschel, who is now a legal runner at a Lincoln law firm, wants to pursue a career in environmental law. Estonia, he said, is a unique case study in that field.

“I chose Estonia specifically due to their impressive turnaround from one of the larger polluters in the world, under Soviet control, to one of the most environmentally conscious places on Earth. Additionally, Estonians are arguably one of the most vigilant, determined, and hard-working people on the planet.”

Peschel said that even though he’ll be thousands of miles away, and even though he’s already graduated, UNO will never be far from his heart.

“I attended a small private parochial school in Lincoln from pre-K through 12th grade, so making the leap of faith to attend a new school, a school I knew nobody at, was difficult. However, it was one of the best decisions of my life and helped me to grow as an individual. I will forever be thankful for all the support I received at UNO.”

Christine Cutucache, Ph.D.

Status: Director of UNO’s STEM TRAIL Center
Destination: Finland

This May, Christine Cutuchace, Ph.D., UNO STEM TRAIL Center Director and Faculty Fellow for Academic Assessment and Planning, will travel to Finland to exchange knowledge and establish partnerships benefiting participants, institutions, and communities in the U.S. and overseas through a variety of educational and training activities focused on educational outcomes.

“Finnish educational outcomes routinely top the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) scoreboard,” she said. “Similarly, innovative new companies focusing on STEM concepts—from learning analytics to game-based educational ventures—are expansive. I’m eager to share some of the research from our programs in STEM at UNO, build out new collaborations, and expand my learning thanks to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Unlike other Fulbright recipients, Cutucache’s time abroad will be shorter and more focused. She will travel this May and spend two weeks at the University of Eastern Finland before returning to UNO as part of the Fulbright Specialist Program.

Recipients of this prestigious and competitive award are chosen based on academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership in their field and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S and abroad.

Javed Iqbal, Ph.D.

Status: Associate Professor of Economics
Origin: Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

Economic inequity is an issue that is as true halfway across the world as it is here in the United States; however, it’s the differences between the real estate industry and its interaction with local and state governments that provide opportunities for finding solutions.

Javed Iqbal, an associate professor from Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan, applied for a Fulbright to study in Omaha, at UNO, after a prior visit under the Pakistani Universities Linkages Programme (PULP) through International Studies and the Center for Afghanistan Studies.

"The US has an incredible experience in dealing with the housing affordability issue. They have a vast housing mortgage program that facilitates households of different income levels. By studying the US housing sector, we may have more exposure to the knowledge and information that the US has gone through over the decades. The experience and knowledge that I would come across through my engagement in postdoc research can be a good experience that we may use and apply to my country Pakistan."

Arriving in Omaha in November with his wife and children, the Fulbright experience for Iqbal has been one of initial challenges, including trying to secure housing and navigating enrolling his children in school. However, he says it is an experience that he says is not just rewarding for him, but his family as well.

“The people-to-people exchange encourages countries to take more opportunities to understand each other. I think this is very good experience, even for improving other life skills; it makes me ask how can we come back in the future and expand this connection?”

Humaira Jami, Ph.D.

Status: Assistant Professor of Applied Psychology
Origin: Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

Humaira Jami wasn’t successful on her first Fulbright application, but persistence paid off as, even though a pandemic, she was able to navigate processing delays and flight restrictions to make it to Omaha and begin her work helping people.

“My focus is transgender health and I want to develop programs to train physicians in that area because it does not exist in Pakistan the way it does in the United States,” Jami, who is working in Sociology and Anthropology with UNO faculty member Jay Irwin, Ph.D., said. “My advisor has been very helpful getting us connected with various physicians at UNMC and faculty from several other universities are also helping in developing the training modules. That is what I like about the U.S.; everyone is collaborative.”

Like Iqbal, Jami was part of the PULP and visited UNO in 2018. She said that familiarity helped her securing the chance to do her research here and it has helped her move forward with that research as well, saying by May she should be able to begin delivering online training to medical students in Pakistan and aims to conclude training by July.

And even beyond what she can bring back to Pakistan, Jami knows she has already made an impact locally by building a more connected world for her daughter.

“This experience is letting me challenge This experience is letting me challenge my personal biases about the USA and the stereotypes about Pakistan and our people as well,” she said. “When we come together, we can understand each other in a better way.”