The following Holy Cross fourth-year students recently received prestigious Fulbright awards to teach and conduct research in foreign countries upon their graduation from Holy Cross:

Mary Colasuonno, a political science major with a concentration in Asian studies, has been awarded a teaching assistantship in Taiwan. She will be teaching Chinese to elementary school children, taking graduate level Chinese classes and conducting her own independent research on English education in China. A resident of Staten Island, N.Y., Colasuonno began her research last year while studying abroad in Beijing. While at Holy Cross, she has participated in the Appalachia Spring Break Service Project and the Jamaica Immersion Program. A member of the dean’s list, Colasuonno was also a Watson Fellowship finalist.

Amanda Corbett, a German major from Winchester, Mass., has been awarded a teaching assistantship in Austria. She will be teaching English to students in an Austrian high school. A member of the German National Honor Society and vice president of the Holy Cross German Club, Corbett studied in Vienna during the 2001-02 academic year. In addition to serving as president of the Purple Key Society, Corbett was a tour guide, a lector and a singer in the Holy Cross all-female a cappella group, the Delilahs.

Michael Kenny, a double major in political science and religious studies with a concentration in Asian studies, will travel to Sri Lanka to conduct research on “The Buddha’s Great Medicine.” He will investigate the contemporary application of the Buddha’s teachings to Sri Lankan social suffering, focusing on how they are used outside of a monastic setting to help alleviate poverty, political violence and psychiatric disorders. A resident of Highland, N.Y., Kenny is the founder and president of the Holy Cross Meditation Society.

Kathleen Kerigan, a philosophy major from Big Flats, N.Y., will travel to Indonesia to study political and military philosophy. Kerigan is a member of the College’s division one soccer team. Her volunteer activities include teaching English to Vietnamese children, giving snowboarding lessons to underprivileged youth and preparing dinner for residents at a local shelter. A member of the Philosophy National Honor Society, Phi Sigma Tau, Kerigan was also recently accepted to the South East Summer Study Institute for intensive Indonesian language at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Melissa Schroeder, a psychology major with a minor in German, has been awarded a teaching assistantship in Austria. She will be teaching English to Austrian students. A resident of Queens, N.Y., she is a member of the women’s varsity crew team and the German Honor Society, Delta Phi Alpha.

Julie Colotti, of Boxford, Mass., received a Fulbright teaching assistantship in Germany.