“I am very grateful to the Cal Poly Humboldt staff who have supported me throughout my college career and with the Fulbright application process. I am very humbled by this opportunity and hope to inspire other students to apply to the program,” Benavides-Garb says.
The Fulbright Program was established by Congress to foster mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other nations. Benavides-Garb joins a distinguished community of program participants who will pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English abroad.
As a double major in Political Science and Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Benavides-Garb, who is graduating this spring, has excelled in a demanding curriculum that prepared her to spend a year in Mexico as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant, educating the next generation of Mexican youth.
Currently, she serves as a district intern for the California State Senate President Pro Tempore, Sen. Mike McGuire, honing invaluable policy and public service skills. On campus, she has worked for CHECK IT, the office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and as a student orientation leader. Her study abroad experiences in France and Spain, where she skillfully navigated language barriers while thriving academically, further showcase her remarkable adaptability in international contexts.
Benavides-Garb has also been selected for another prestigious award, the Capital Fellows Program, nationally recognized public policy fellowships which offer unique experiences in policy-making and development in each branch of California's state government. Her faculty mentors—Political Science Professor and department Chair Joice Chang, Professor Stephanie Burkhalter, Associate Professor Tani Sebro, Religious Studies Professor Vincent Biondo, and Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Professor Joseph Dieme—are extremely proud of her accomplishments.
“I am inspired by Benavides-Garb’s hard work and dedication to serving others. These prestigious programs are fortunate to have a student of her caliber. Winning fellowships like this is rare, making it a significant achievement, and we are incredibly proud of Benavides-Garb,” says Sebro, professor of Politics.
Fulbright alumni have risen to become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs, and university presidents, along with prominent journalists, artists, scientists, and educators. They include 62 Nobel Laureates, 90 Pulitzer Prize winners, 82 MacArthur Fellows, and leaders across private, public, and non-profit sectors.
Students interested in applying for a Fulbright award can contact Cal Poly Humboldt’s Fulbright Coordinator, Vincent Biondo, at vfb2@humboldt.edu.