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Three Wheaton alumni are preparing to spend a year abroad, after being awarded Fulbright scholarships.
 Han-luen Kantzer Komline ’04 has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student scholarship to Germany in Theology and Religion.
Since graduating from Wheaton, Han-luen has attended Princeton Theological Seminary. During her Fulbright year, she will be studying theology at the Univeristy of Tübingen, which will include taking classes and working on independent research exploring how Karl Barth’s theological response to human limits in the Church Dogmatics compares to Martin Heidegger’s response to the finite human condition in Being in Time and how the insights of the two thinkers might be fruitfully combined.
“Eventually I would like to teach theology in a Christian academic context. I hope there will be time for me to continue to do research and write on theological topics. The next step after I get back from Germany is to start doctoral work at Notre Dame, where I’ll be focusing on theology in the patristic period,” says Han-luen.
 Daniel Osland ’00 has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student scholarship to Spain in Archaeology.
After graduating from Wheaton, Dan earned a Masters from the University of Cincinnati in 2005. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. at the
University of Cincinnati’s Department of Classics, where his research focuses on Roman Archaeology.
Daniel’s passion for Roman archaeology began in grade school, when his family moved to Portugal. His research focuses on the Iberian Peninsula, A.D. 400-700—when the Roman Empire was gradually receding from Western Europe, leaving a void for new powers to take control. This process is particularly evident in Daniel’s case study of Merida, Spain and other important centers in the Roman administration.
The Fulbright will allow him the time he needs to study Merida’s material remains and artifacts. Daniel hopes to use those resources to reconstruct the city plan, showing how the city’s physical appearance changed from A.D. 400-700.
 Ben Shivers ’08 has been named a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship award recipient, and will spend the next year living and working in Germany. He has asked for an assignment in the region of Mecklenburg, which is in the northeast part of the country and was formerly part of East Germany.
Ben spent ten weeks in the country as part of the Wheaton in Germany program, during which he interned in Berlin at the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament. He sees the Fulbright opportunity as an extension of that experience. “I don’t think I could design a more fitting program. I love Germany, I love the German language, and I’ve really enjoyed the teaching I’ve done so far. So it combines the areas I’m most enthusiastic about.”
Han-luen, Daniel, and Ben are three of more than 1,450 citizens who will travel abroad for the 2008-2009 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please visit fulbright.state.gov.
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