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Nine Occidental seniors and alumni won Fulbrights in 2018 to work and study in nine countries on four continents. The nine are among 108 Occidental students and alumni who have won Fulbrights since 2003.

Occidental ranked tenth overall among liberal arts colleges, tied with Amherst and Swarthmore, according to the .

The nine students and alumni and their assignments are:

• Fernando Abarca ’14, a politics and Spanish studies major from Palo Alto who is conducting research in El Salvador
• Dexter Blackwell ’17, a group language major from Santa Monica who is teaching English in Ukraine
• Tessa Blum ’18, a politics major from New York City who is teaching English in Spain
• Sydney Bowman ’18, a diplomacy and world affairs and Spanish studies major from Cornelius, N.C. who also is teaching English in Spain
• Francesca Cenzatti ’18, a group language major from Berkeley who is teaching English in Taiwan
• Theresa Edwards ’18, a diplomacy and world affairs and Spanish studies major from Seattle who is conducting research in Bolivia and Peru
• Kelly Fitzgerald ’18, a sociology major from Mountain View, Hawai’i who is teaching English in the Netherlands
• Lilia Jimenez ’18, a sociology major from Newhall who is teaching English in Mexico
• Anna Misenti ’17, a diplomacy and world affairs major from Bainbridge Island, Wash., who is teaching English in Indonesia

The Fulbright program, which covers travel, education and living expenses, is a program of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs established in 1946 under legislation introduced by Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.

Founded in 1887, Occidental is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast. Since winning its first Rhodes Scholarship in 1907, the College has consistently won national and international recognition for academic achievement and its global orientation. Scores of Occidental alumni are currently serving in the Foreign Service, with international NGOs and as international entrepreneurs.