Virginia Tech graduating senior Amanda Davis of Chesterfield, Va., an International Studies and Human Development double major, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Mexico at The Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM).

Starting in August, Davis will pursue a master's degree in Public Policy from ITESM, also known as Monterrey Tec. For her graduate thesis, Davis will conduct research on "How the respective legislative branches of the U.S. and Mexican governments, as well as the changing international order, have impacted the countries' bilateral relationship."

In addition to her studies, Davis will also volunteer with ITESM's Community Programs Department in a project titled, "Strengthening of Social Networks."

"Amanda is truly an extraordinary honors student with excellent language skills in Spanish," said Barbara Cowles, associate director of University Honors. "She has studied abroad on various occasions, which is excellent preparation for what she will find wherever she goes. The University Honors Program and the Campus Fulbright Committee feel that she will be a wonderful ambassador for Virginia Tech and the United States."

Davis has participated in several study abroad programs. Last summer, she completed a community service internship in Monterrey, where she teamed with Mexican students to implement a summer educational opportunity for children from marginalized communities. In 2005, she studied in Xalapa in Veracruz, Mexico. She taught English in Romania for two summers and has also traveled in Spain, Germany, France, and Switzerland with the People to People Student Ambassador program.

Davis, who also has a minor in Spanish, has an impressive history of academic and extracurricular participation and success at Virginia Tech. She served as an intern with the Somali Bantu Resettlement Initiative, where she assessed needs and aided Somali refugees with their transition to U.S. life. As a student delegate to the National Model NATO Conference, Davis collaborated with fellow delegates on major military, security, and political issues facing NATO Member States. A member of Phi Upsilon Omicron National Honor Society and an editing assistant for the International Studies Department, Davis conducted her own undergraduate research by analyzing the U.S. post-September 11 security policy in relation to Mexico. She also served as a resident advisor and as an ambassador for the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

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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