Dr. Camastra Receives Fulbright Scholar Award
The O’Neal School is pleased to announce that Nicole J. Camastra has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award in American Studies to Norway for the 2024-2025 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Dr. Camastra will serve as a Roving Scholar in American Studies. She will offer workshops for upper secondary students that elaborate on connections between American literature and the culture that produced it. For educators, she will share her perspectives and strategies as a scholar practitioner who favors experiential learning and student-based inquiry.
Dr. Camastra is among over 800 U.S. citizens who will teach or conduct research abroad for the 2024-2025 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Fulbrighters engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.
As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Notable Fulbright alumni include 62 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, 78 MacArthur Fellows, and 41 who have served as a head of state or government. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from over 160 countries - chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential - with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to challenges facing our communities and our world.
“I commend Dr. Camastra for her work in receiving a Fulbright Scholar Award,” comments Interim Head of School Brenda Jackson. “As director of studies, English department chair and director of our Signature Scholars Research Program, Dr. Camastra has been instrumental in refining the pursuit of academic excellence and encouraging students to independently research topics for which they are passionate. The O’Neal Community wishes her well in Norway and looks forward to learning from her experience upon her return.”
O’Neal is a college preparatory, independent day school serving students from pre-kindergarten age 3 through 12th grade. It is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) through its accreditation by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS). Last spring, The O’Neal School was one of 12 independent schools worldwide that was awarded the prestigious Edward E. Ford Traditional Grant. The grant is being used to expand O’Neal’s current research programs and resources to impact even more students and faculty members on campus and in the wider Sandhills community. Dr. Camastra’s work in directing O’Neal’s Signature Scholars Research Program played an integral role in helping to receive the prestigious grant.
More than 800 U.S. scholars -- faculty members, artists, and professionals from all backgrounds -- teach or conduct research overseas through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually. In addition, over 2,000 U.S. students, artists, and early career professionals from all backgrounds in more than 100 different fields of study receive Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards annually to study, teach English, and conduct research overseas.
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program. In the United States, the Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student and Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.
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