Farmingdale Graduate Named Fulbright Scholar

A 2013 graduate of Farmingdale State College has won a Fulbright Scholarship, the fourth Farmingdale student to have won the prestigious award in as many years, the college announced.

David J. Dávila, a Hauppauge resident, will pursue travel and teaching abroad as a teacher of English at the university level in Argentina.

“This is a tremendous honor for David Dávila, as well as for Farmingdale,” said Farmingdale President W. Hubert Keen, who is a Fulbright recipient himself. “It is a testament to the continuing high quality of both our students and teachers at Farmingdale, and our commitment to the mentoring process.”

The Fulbright application process was initiated in 2010 at Farmingdale by Dr. Beverly Kahn, professor of political science and campus Fulbright coordinator. Dr. Kahn, who has advised Dávila and all of Farmingdale’s candidates through the rigorous application process, points out that the Fulbright is the most prestigious and competitive of the scholarships offered by the U.S. government.

Among SUNY colleges, Farmingdale is tied for fourth place with a university center in the number of successful candidates.

During his years at Farmingdale, Dávila engaged in a special study abroad experience in Spain. He received a grant from the Spanish government to spend the 2010-2011 academic year as an English language assistant teacher at a high school in Salamanca, Spain.

At Farmingdale, he served on the editorial staff of the college newspaper, the Rambler, and was selected as one of the college’s newly established elite student representatives, the Rambassadors.

With this Fulbright opportunity, Dávila will travel to Argentina, where he will teach English at the university level at an English Teacher Training College for most of the academic year, which begins there in March. Upon his return to the U.S., he plans to attend graduate school in pursuit of his ultimate goal of becoming a teacher of Journalism and English.

“I’m looking forward to pursuing a career in journalism, traveling and sharing the stories of others to the world,” Dávila said.