Lauren Adams of Belgrade has become the first Montana State University student to win a place at a Fulbright summer program in England designed to encourage young scholars.
 
Adams, who has just finished her freshman year majoring in English writing in the College of Letters and Science, will spend four weeks at the University of Sussex in Brighton as part of the Fulbright 2018 U.K. Summer Institute. Adams is also an MSU Presidential Scholar, the university’s most prestigious scholarship, and is enrolled in the Honors College,

 
Adams said she is looking forward to an opportunity that allows “history, economics and culture to meet imagination and creativity.”
 
“Ultimately, I hope this work will enable me to establish worldwide friendships and come home a better learner and teacher,” she said.
 
Adams is one of 60 students selected by the Fulbright Commission to “undertake a demanding academic and cultural summer programs  at (nine) leading institutions in the U.K.”  While at the University of Sussex, Adams will take a course in children’s literature, interact with students throughout the world and travel to destinations throughout England studying British culture. Adams said she plans to hike through South Downs National Park, attend Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” at the Globe Theater and tour London, Brighton, Bath and Stonehenge.

 
Ilse-Mari Lee, dean of MSU’s Honors College, said the Fulbright Summer Institute is one of the most prestigious and selective summer scholarship programs worldwide for young scholars. She said that the opportunity will allow Adams to immerse herself in the riches of British children’s literature and culture.

 
“Lauren is an excellent writer and also a tutor in the Writing Center,” Lee said. “We know that upon her return, her Fulbright experience will not only enrich her own writing but also her work with her peers.”
 
Likewise, the MSU English department is also proud of Adam’s Fulbright, according to Ben Luebner, English professor.
 
“The opportunity to study under these circumstances for a summer in England will be of inestimable value to Lauren and her education, and we’ve no doubt that it will have a positive effect on the department as a whole upon her return,” he said.
 
Adams said she learned of the institute from an email sent to Honors College students about scholarships and other opportunities.
 
“I’ve never been outside of the U.S. so I thought it would be perfect for me,” she said. The rigorous competition included a personal interview, which Adams conducted via Skype.
 
Adams said she came to MSU interested in English writing and teaching. However, she said her first year studies expanded her horizons. She became fascinated with her studies in government and became deeply immersed in the study of economics, which she now intends to declare as a minor.
 
“And, I’m very glad that I got involved in the Honors College because it offers so many opportunities to students inside and outside the classroom,” Adams said.
 
Adams said that when she returns from the institute she will work in the MSU Writing Center with the incoming students in the university’s Hilleman Scholars Program, an enrichment program for incoming Montana freshmen who demonstrate academic and leadership promise.
 
For more information on the Fulbright 2018 U.K. Summer Institute, go to: http://www.fulbright.org.uk/going-to-the-uk/uk-summer-institutes.