Bucks County's Lescas wins Fulbright to study in Denmark

2016 Jun 8

Will Lescas of Churchsville, Pa. is one of four Blue Hens who will be travelling abroad as part of the newest class of Fulbright Student Program award winners.

Lescas, a 2016 University of Delaware graduate in the Honors Program, has been awarded a Fulbright for graduate study at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. There, he will take on a master's in political science, concentrating on the integration of Denmark into the European Union.

Of the unique perspective his Fulbright will allow him, Lescas said, "It's all about context. When you are there, you start to see patterns that you wouldn't see just from literature. After reading books and being removed from the world, I'm going to be taking classes with the authors. It is so cool. I've read what they have spent years of their life doing and now I actually get to sit down and talk with them regularly. It's the real deal."

Lescas, who majored in international relations while at UD, was first introduced to Denmark through an education abroad program with the University of Delaware and the Danish Institute for Study Abroad. "DIS was the program I wanted, but not necessarily the location. All of that changed. I have a host family that I still keep in close contact with, and I went back to Denmark for my senior thesis work over the winter. That kind of was the start of it, realizing it was this wonderful place."

Lescas said that students should not allow the prestige of the award to stop them from applying. "The program is accessible to those who have a good plan and a passion," he added.

The students will Join Allison Karpyn, associate director of the Center for Education Research and Social Policy (CRESP) and associate professor of education and behavioral health and nutrition, as the newest members of the UD Fulbright Society, established to honor members of the University community who have won the award.

The Fulbright Program annually provides 8,000 grants for research or teaching in one of over 140 countries throughout the world.