May Grad Awarded Fulbright To Study In Spain

By Jim DeAngio

Mark Santana ’06, who graduated from Old Dominion University in May with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering, had planned to continue his studies in graduate school this fall. But that was before he learned he had been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Spain.

Although graduate school is now on hold, the 22-year-old from Norfolk will nevertheless receive a singular educational experience in 2006-07, studying water quality in the Ebro River, which runs through Zaragoza, a 2,000-year-old valley city in the northeastern part of the country. While there, he will work at the University of Zaragoza and receive a monthly stipend. The Fulbright program began Sept. 13 and continues for nine months.

“I will be looking for correlations between the quality of the water and the number of government and business facilities located in the region,” Santana explained. “In doing so, I will be working with international engineers, researchers and the Spanish scientific community.

“I’m excited about this research, along with the opportunity to build a database of contacts and to get to know other students like myself.”

Fluent in Spanish, Santana first visited Spain over spring break in 2005 with a group of fellow Old Dominion students who were studying linguistics. Having also visited Montreal, Puerto Rico and Berlin, he longed for the opportunity to live and study abroad, leading him to apply for the Fulbright award. He learned he had won the scholarship two weeks after graduation.

“Naturally, my parents and I were very excited, very happy,” he said. “The first thing we did was drive over to the university to thank the professors who helped me.”

In addition to the valuable experience he will gain, Santana said he looks forward to visiting the Basque country, Barcelona and Madrid. He is most interested in going well off the beaten path to experience Guadix and its “Barrio Troglodyte,” where the residents live in caves, some of which have electricity, marble floors and even Internet access.