Mathew Cahill, of Williamsburg, Va. (Lafayette HS), a senior International Studies and German major in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship that combines a study grant with an English teaching assistantship by the Austrian-American Educational Commission.

Cahill's receipt of the prestigious grant is especially remarkable because the majority of Fulbright winners are graduate students. Though graduating seniors are eligible for the awards, their selection is rare. It is particularly unique that Tim Work of Virginia Beach, Va., also a senior in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, was selected for a Fulbright to attend Austria next year.

The Fulbright award, which lasts from September 2004 to June 2005, is based on a process that began in the fall, when, among other things, Cahill was asked to submit a research proposal and interview with the Virginia Tech Fulbright Committee. In January, he was notified that he was recommended for a grant under the Fulbright Program by the National Screening Committee of the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York.

"Mat and Tim are truly extraordinary honors students with excellent language skills in German," said Barbara Cowles, associate director of University Honors. "Both have studied abroad, an excellent preparation for what they will find. The University Honors Program and the Campus Fulbright Committee feel that they will be wonderful ambassadors for Virginia Tech and the United States."

Cahill will be enrolled in the Master of Political Economy program at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. This program will allow Cahill, who also has a minor in economics, to study a wide range of courses in international issues at a highly respected institution in a historic city. These studies will aid tremendously in pursuit of a career in diplomacy, Cahill said.

"I feel honored to have been selected as a Fulbright Scholar," Cahill said. "This opens many doors for my education and puts me where I need to be for my career. Vienna is a wonderful city, and I look forward to taking advantage of the countless opportunities the city has to offer in international politics."

Cahill has a long history of academic and extracurricular success during his past four years at Virginia Tech. He is a member of the University Honors Program, Phi Beta Kappa, Golden Key International Honour Society, Delta Phi Alpha National German Honorary, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He also has been a German tutor and contributed columns to the university's student newspaper, The Collegiate Times.

Cahill also was a Zylphia Shu-En Scholar, a program that allows selected scholars to study Mandarin Chinese for two semesters, following which the students spend two to three weeks in China completing a cultural and linguistic field study.

Cahill is conducting undergraduate research with Dr. Amy Nelson for an Honors undergraduate thesis entitled, "Armenian Nationalism since Independence: Rendezvous with the Past."

In addition to his academic success, Cahill already has extensive experience abroad. He has served as an election observer in Armenia, interned with a foreign corporation in Germany, interned with the State Department in Vienna, and interpreted and written for high government officials.

The College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences embraces the arts, humanities, social and human sciences, and education. The college nurtures intellect and spirit, enlightens decision-making, inspires positive change, and improves the quality of life for people of all ages. It is home to the departments of apparel, housing and resource management, communication, educational leadership and policy studies, English, foreign languages and literatures, history; human development, interdisciplinary studies, music, philosophy, political science, ROTC, science and technology in society, sociology, teaching and learning, and theatre arts.

Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech has grown to become the largest university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Virginia Tech's eight colleges are dedicated to putting knowledge to work through teaching, research, and outreach activities and to fulfilling its vision to be among the top 30 research universities in the nation. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 170 academic degree programs.

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