June 16, 2010
Adam Smith. Download image.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) senior Adam L. Smith, 22, of Henagar, has won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Jordan for the 2010-11 academic year.
Smith, an international studies major in the UAB Department of Government, will spend 10 months in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Fulbright award will pay for transportation and provide a stipend for living expenses.
Smith, who also is pursuing a minor in Arabic through the UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, traveled to Jordan this past spring to study Arabic through the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. In 2009, he won a U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to Morocco.
"I am ecstatic to receive the Fulbright," said Smith. "My academic plans are coming to fruition. My placement in Jordan has thrilled me beyond belief. Returning to Amman in September will be elating; I have many friends and know the country well."
He is waiting to see where he will be teaching in the fall, he said, but will continue studying Arabic while in Jordan.
Smith said he is planning a career in international development. He is the son of Chris and Yvonne Smith of Henagar.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given approximately 300,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The UAB Department of Government and the UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures are housed in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, home to academic disciplines that include the arts, humanities, sciences and the School of Education. The college's unique structure advances research and learning in both K-12 and higher education, and its courses are taught by a world-class faculty. Committed to the UAB spirit of independence and innovation, the college enables students to design their own majors, participate in undergraduate research or complete graduate degrees on a five-year fast track. Through productive partnerships, flexible curricula and a bold, interdisciplinary approach to learning and teaching, the college is preparing students for success in the ever-changing global marketplace of commerce and ideas.