Alex Starnes, North Carolina State ’16, and Stephen Wemple, Villanova ’16, were selected as 2016-2017 Fulbright scholars. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s leading international educational exchange program. The prestigious grant is awarded to roughly 1,600 U.S. students each year and enables graduating college seniors to teach and conduct research abroad.

Starnes graduated with a degree in electrical and computer engineering with a minor in Spanish and is currently serving as a teaching assistant in Spain. He is a former chapter president and SigEp Ruck Scholar. During his time at North Carolina State, Starnes completed internships at Boeing and Eastman Chemical and was active in Eta Kappa Nu, an electrical and computer engineering honors fraternity.

“I’m most excited about having the opportunity to serve as a cultural ambassador. To serve your country, university, fraternity and family is a big responsibility, and I am honored to do so,” said Starnes.

Meanwhile, Wemple is teaching English in Vietnam. “My primary roles are English teacher and cultural ambassador, but I am also tasked with engaging the community through entrepreneurial programming. I hope to give students an outlet to develop critical thinking skills and creative frameworks,” he said.

Like Starnes, Wemple is a former Ruck Scholar and SigEp chapter officer, having served as chaplain and vice president of member development. He studied economics and finance at Villanova and spent two years volunteering as an English as a Second Language tutor for Vietnamese immigrants at the St. Thomas Aquinas Center.