fall 2013 / 11
STUDENT NEWS
Recent BSC graduate wins Fulbright teaching assistantship
to Taiwan
Birmingham-Southern’s longstanding success in earning Fulbright scholarships carried into 2013, when senior
Daniel Rucker received the nation’s flagship international education award.
Rucker is using her award to spend 10 months assisting English teachers of a non-native English background
in Yilan, Taiwan. She is spending at least 30 hours per week in the classroom teaching and organizing language-
related activities.
Her interest in Taiwan grew from her study-abroad experience her sophomore year at Hong Kong Baptist
University.
“I feel so fortunate to have received this amazing opportunity to teach abroad,” said Rucker, a native of
Nashville, Tenn., who graduated from BSC in May with a degree in economics. “I’m also excited to be immersed
in the Taiwanese culture while exposing their students to a bit of American culture.”
Once she returns from Taiwan, Rucker plans to pursue a graduate degree.
“Teaching is not my first passion,” she said. “But who knows? After my year in Taiwan, that could all change.”
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the highly selective, merit-based Fulbright scholarship provides
funds to seniors and graduate students who plan to conduct research, teach, or exercise other talents abroad.
Some 5,000 applicants competed for this year’s awards.
Rucker
Memphis student wins college’s top scholarship
Andrea Vancil was heavily involved in student activities and academic life while at White
Station High School in Memphis. Now that work has paid off: Vancil was selected earlier
this year for Birmingham-Southern’s highest award to incoming freshmen, the Rushton
Scholarship.
The award, now in its sixth year as BSC’s preeminent scholarship, honors Col. William
James Rushton, a Birmingham insurance executive, and his wife, Elizabeth Perry Rushton.
Rushton Scholars receive full tuition and room and board each year, plus a $2,000
annual stipend to be used for summer travel, internships, study abroad programs, or special
projects. Vancil was chosen by a selection committee from national candidates based on her exemplary record of leadership and service.
In high school, Vancil was president of the National Honor Society, pianist and saxophonist for the Jazz Band, founder of the school’s
Humane Society, varsity cheerleader, and a Drum Corps International color guard member. She also served as an elementary school chess
coach for her community and volunteered for library summer reading programs.
The daughter of Mark and Lori Vancil, she graduated with a weighted GPA of 4.6. Andrea Vancil is the great-niece of Edna Marie Wakefield
’64. Her grandmother, Ella Frances Wakefield, also attended BSC.
Vancil
AAICU awards UPS scholarship to Birmingham-Southern senior
LaTonya Owen, a senior at Birmingham-Southern, recently received a $2,400 UPS scholarship provided through
the Alabama Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (AAICU).
Owen is a psychology major and a member of the Psychology Club, Psi Chi international honor society in
psychology, and the Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honor society. She is the daughter of Gloria and Michael
Owen of Birmingham and the sister of Reginald Owen ’02.
The AAICU is a statewide association for private colleges and universities that is affiliated with the Council
of Independent Colleges (CIC). At the national level, the CIC teams up with the UPS Foundation to distribute
funding of the UPS scholarship. This year, the CIC awarded nearly $1.5 million in scholarships from its UPS
Educational Endowment Fund to private institutions of higher learning across the nation.
Scholarships are awarded on the basis of students’ academic achievement and financial need.
Owen
