Florida Polytechnic University continues to expand its international reach through its Fulbright program partnerships.
Bobby Acacio and Ecieno Carmona are the latest Florida Poly students to receive prestigious Killam Fellowships through the university’s partnership with Fulbright Canada. Acacio will spend the fall semester at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia. Carmona will be attending the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, in the spring.
“It’s an incredible opportunity,” said Acacio, a junior from Exeter, Pennsylvania, majoring in electrical engineering. ”It gives me the ability to learn from others internationally and bring that back here. That’s the main goal of the Fulbright, to better Florida Poly at the end of the day.”
Acacio is the vice-chair of the Florida Poly Presidential Ambassadors and president of the student chapter of the IEEE, the world’s largest technical and professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. He also gives his time to the Volunteers in Service to the Elderly (VISTE).
“I’ve only been at Florida Poly for two years, but I can’t imagine a different life for me,” said Acacio.
Carmona is a senior from Ocala, Florida, majoring in mechanical engineering.
“It’s a great honor,” said Carmona. “It’s an amazing opportunity to meet people and network, and I’m excited about that. I want to be an industrial designer when I graduate, and that university offers some design classes I’m hoping to get into.”
In addition to being a full-time student, Carmona also works part-time at TRI-TRONICS, a leader in the fields of photoelectric sensors, rotary encoders and elevator door protection located in Tampa, Florida.
The Killam Fellowship Program allows undergraduate students from Canada and the United States to participate in a program of binational residential exchange. This program, administered by Fulbright Canada, is supported by an endowment from the American Killam Trusts, Global Affairs Canada, and the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States (Fulbright Canada).
“Being able to offer study abroad opportunities is one of the many ways Florida Poly aims to provide a world-class educational experience for its students,” said Dr. Randy K. Avent, president of Florida Poly. “All of our Fulbright partnerships are critical components to our international studies program.”
In addition to Canada, Florida Poly’s Fulbright reach provides for opportunities in Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg. The university has already hosted a professor from Canada along with three graduate students from Germany.
Florida Poly students interested in Fulbright opportunities should contact Associate Director of International Studies Mustapha Achoubane at international@floridapoly.edu.
Contact:
Lydia Guzman
Assistant Director of Communications
8639748837