SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 — Recent UTSA graduate Kane Sandoval ’23 has been named a finalist by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and will be travelling to Cambodia to serve as a Fulbright English teaching assistant. This prestigious international educational exchange program, designed to increase mutual understanding between Americans and people in other countries, provides awards to approximately 8,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals each year.
Around 2,200 students participate in the student program, which funds their work to teach, conduct independent research or earn a graduate degree.
Sandoval was an Honors College student who graduated with a B.S. in environmental science in 2023. In 2022, he received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, which enabled him to attend the UTSA College of Sciencesprogram in Urbino, Italy that fall.
Since graduating, he has also traveled to Paraguay to complete an internship with Fundación Para La Tierra, a nonprofit organization studying, conserving and teaching about the biodiversity of the region.
Kane Sandoval will serve as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Cambodia.Additionally, Sandoval has continued to stay connected to UTSA, working as a laboratory assistant in The Smith Wildlife lab at UTSA, which was previouly led by Jennifer Smith, a former assistant professor in the UTSA Department of Integrative Biology. He also served as a counselor for entomology and hydrology-themed summer camps at UTSA this summer.
Sandoval submitted his Fulbright application through the UTSA Office of Nationally Competitive Awards. The office supported him through the application process by interviewing him, helping him select a country that matched his interests, brainstorming with him on how to tell his story, and reviewing essay drafts.
Fulbright winners receive a monthly stipend along with travel benefits, health benefits and free training. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on their academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
In Cambodia, Sandoval will work with local instructors to help teach the English language, while also serving as a grassroots cultural ambassador of the United States.
“I want to help Cambodia because I believe it is a country mostly ignored by the Western world, and I could help show that the U.S. does care about the people there,” Kane said. “I cherish helping people born without the opportunities I had and encountering new cultures to expand ideas and compassion.”
After completing the 10-month position, Sandoval plans to apply for an international master's program in environmental science or related fields.
Two other UTSA graduates, Jaci Finch ’23 and Danny Vidaurri ’23, received Fulbright awards this year. Finch is a current graduate student at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and will be traveling to Viljandi, Estonia, to work at the Viljandi Library American Center. She originally applied to the program as an undergraduate through UTSA and was a semi-finalist; this year she applied again through UTRGV. Vidaurri, who applied as an at-large candidate, will travel to Spain under the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant program.
In fall 2023, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs named UTSA a Fulbright HSI Leader, recognizing the university’s noteworthy participation across Fulbright programs for students, faculty and administrators for the second year in a row.
Since 2020, 17 UTSA students have received Fulbright scholarships. The UTSA Office of Nationally Competitive Awardsactively promotes Fulbright program opportunities for students and works with them to enhance their eligibility. In April, UTSA welcomed a Fulbright delegation to campus, which included Director of U.S. student programs Dan Kramer, as well as Fulbright alumni. The visit was part of an initiative to grow Fulbright’s presence at UTSA.
Last year, a record 18 Roadrunners applied for the student program.
“We’re happy to see students from across UTSA apply to Fulbright. While many think Fulbright is only for liberal and fine arts students, applicants like Kane remind us that all academic backgrounds can participate in the program,” said Andrew Chapman, UTSA director of nationally competitive awards. “Kane will bring to Cambodia his knowledge of environmental science as well as enthusiasm for education. He’ll be a fantastic representative of UTSA, San Antonio, and the U.S.”
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Join UTSA Libraries and Museums to learn more about the publishing discounts available for UTSA researchers. Current agreements include Elsevier, Cambridge University Press, Springer Open, and more. Please bring your questions and feedback for the library as we continue to pursue partnerships with publishers to reduce costs for our researchers.
Virtual EventYou have probably heard of the term “fair use,” but how comfortable do you feel with navigating U.S. copyright law? For instance, did you know you are not required to register your copyrighted work with the U.S. Copyright Office? Join us for a hands-on workshop about the basics of copyright, both in education and as a researcher. We’ll dispel some common copyright myths and differences between copyright law and other intellectual property law and teach you how to apply a Fair Use checklist to your scholarly work.
Virtual EventDon’t mind the writing but hate formatting citations and bibliographies? Working on your thesis or dissertation, or even a long paper this semester? Citation managers such as Zotero® can help you store and organize the citations you find during your research. Take part in this session about using Zotero®.
Virtual EventIn this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to setup an EndNote library, save references and PDFs, and automatically create and edit a bibliography. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to have EndNote already installed on a personal computer.
Virtual EventFeaturing UTSA alumni John Seesholtz and Melissa Lubecke Serabia. The program will be focused on Latin American Art Song. Free and open to the public.
UTSA Recital HallPressbooks is an open educational resource authoring platform for simple book publishing. Upon completion of the Pressbooks Basic workshop attendees will be able to: create a new book, clone an existing book, remix chapters from a variety of different Creative Commons licensed books, add media and other content to a book, export a book in a wide range of formats.
Virtual EventJoin Community-Engaged Digital Scholarship Hub (CEDISH) and the Digital Humanities Student Association (DHSO) at UTSA for an enlightening workshop on "Responsible Datasets in Context," sponsored by the Mozilla Foundation. Participants will gain insights into creating contextually rich datasets, developing data essays, and crafting effective visualizations.
Assembly Room, 4th Floor (4.04.22), John Peace LibraryThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
