Lawrence’s de Meij earns 2019-20 Fulbright honor; 58th in school’s history

Lawrence University continues its strong tradition of producing Fulbright scholars.

It was announced Thursday that Milou (Emmylou) de Meij ’19 has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award, the 58th time a Lawrence student has been so honored over the past four decades.

She will teach English in an assistantship position in Latvia during the 2019-20 academic year. The selections for Fulbright honors came from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. 

De Meij, of Bozeman, Montana, is one of more than 2,100 U.S. citizens who will study, conduct research, and teach abroad for the coming academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.  Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as their record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields.  

De Meij, who is pursuing degrees in both Russian studies and music performance (piano), will work with an English instructor in Latvia.

She said she also will be pursuing a research project studying folk music in the region.

De Meij previously studied abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia, as a Gilman scholar. That experience led her to the Fulbright program, and her interests in both music and Russian culture and history proved to be an ideal fit.

“While I was abroad in Russia, I took a Soviet music history course, and while doing research for a paper, learned about the singing revolution in the Baltic states where Latvians literally used singing as a means for peaceful protest against the Soviet Union,” de Meij said. “Thus, as a music major, I’m really thrilled to be able to experience a culture so intimately tied to music and singing.”

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is administered at Lawrence University through Kia Thao in the Center for Career, Life, and Community Engagement. 

Lawrence earlier this year landed on a prestigious list honoring the top-producing Fulbright schools. Each year the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the top-producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

“Getting recognized as one of the top-producing institutions is an acknowledgement of the great things Lawrence students can achieve,” Thao said at the time. 

Lawrence has had 57 student Fulbright recipients since 1976. De Meij will be No. 58.

The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State.  Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.