Virginia Tech undergraduate student awarded Fulbright Scholarship

Timothy Work of Virginia Beach, Va.(Virginia Beach - Princess Anne High School), a senior history and art history major in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship by the Austrian-American Educational Commission.

Work's receipt of the prestigious grant is especially remarkable because the vast majority of Fulbright winners are graduate students. Though graduating seniors are eligible for the awards, their selection is rare. It is particularly unique that Mat Cahill of Williamsburg, also a senior in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, 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, Work 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.

The Fulbright Commission in Austria announced the winners on April 1. "My first instinct was that it was an April fool's joke," Work said. It was readily apparent, however, that it was a serious offer to the multi-lingual, multi-major, bass guitar enthusiast.

"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."

The Fulbright grant will allow Work to travel to Austria in the fall to teach and do research in his chosen field of urban history. The grant is comprised of three parts, the first of which is an assistanceship for teaching English at Viennese secondary schools for 12 hours each week. Work has ample experience in this area as a member of the Virginia Tech High School tutoring program, a former Eagle Scout and adult BSA volunteer, and a former member of the tutoring program for Montgomery County Public Schools.

The second part of the grant involves assisting two researchers at the Ludwig-Boltzmann Institute for Urban History Research. Work will assist putting together the Austrian Urban Atlas and the Historical Atlas of Vienna, collections of maps and articles about urban history in Austria and Vienna.

The third part of the Grant, to be completed under the supervision of Dr. Katrin Keller of the University of Vienna, is his own independent research project examining city infrastructure and the advent of public transportation in Vienna in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

"These projects will provide valuable experience and contacts for my further studies in urban history," Work said.

Work spent two semesters of his undergraduate years studying in Marburg, Germany, an experience he said prepared him for the sort of situations that his work in Vienna will involve. Almost all courses in Marburg were taught in German, and Work continues to participate in German Conversation tables and reads periodicals from the German-speaking world. Work can also speak French and has a familiarity with Polish, Italian and Latin.

Work, who also has minors in German and Medieval/Renaissance Studies, cites his experience with the faculties of the art history and history departments as contributing factors to his success. "The departments have been extraordinarily supportive in my time at Virginia Tech," Work said. "The great amount of academic freedom I've received from them and the University Honors program is something that one cannot find at any university."

Work has an impressive history of academic and extracurricular participation and success during his past four years at Virginia Tech. He has been active in the Boxing Club, Phi Alpha Theta History Honors Society, Phi Beta Kappa, French Conversation Table, and is president of the Academic Competition Organization. Work also is an avid bass guitar player, has been on Dean's List every semester since his freshman year, and has been the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including the 2004 History Prize, awarded by the Virginia Tech History Department every spring.

Work, who graduates in May as the valedictorian of the history department, plans to leave for Vienna in the middle of September.

Work's ultimate goals involve an academic and internationally-minded life, he said. "After Austria, I will continue to study art and history at graduate school and later teach at the university level," Work said. "I hope to bring out the same level of enthusiasm and fascination for the subject in my students as my teachers did in me."

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.