LATROBE, PA —Saint Vincent College freshman Jonah Weaver has received a place on a Fulbright Summer Institute to study this year at Aberystwyth University in Wales on one of the world’s most prestigious and selective summer scholarship programs.
As a Fulbright UKSI participant, Weaver will study at Aberystwyth University from June 23 to July 12. His program will examine the impact of economic and social change, structural and political reform, the relationship of the British monarchy with the Welsh nation in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death and shifting perceptions of Welsh identity and nationhood.
Weaver, of Danville, PA, is studying public history and liberal arts with a focus on language and culture at Saint Vincent College.
“When I saw the notification in my email, I jumped off the couch and I was like, ‘I got the Fulbright!’” Weaver recalled. “I’m still in a daze. I’m hoping this will help me pursue a post-graduate, actual Fulbright Scholarship later on.”
Fulbright Scholars are postgraduate, postdoctoral academics or professionals who pursue research and/or teaching at a United States or United Kingdom institution. The Fulbright Summer Institute is a short-term session conducted under the auspices of the Fulbright program.
The Summer Institutes are part of the US-UK Fulbright Commission’s work to promote leadership, learning and empathy among nations through educational exchange. The program is designed for students who have little or no travel experience outside of America and is open to freshmen and sophomores with at least a 3.70 grade-point average.
In one of his application essays, Weaver described spending a week at an educational camp at Dickinson College the summer before his senior year of high school. “It was my first time away from home alone,” he said. “I talked about how making friends and meeting professors there helped me transition to college.”
Weaver’s group at Aberystwyth will consist of 16 students, including eight from the United States. The program consists of class study and field trips. “It interested me a lot because it involves history and socio-cultural identity,” Weaver said. “It sounds a lot like my camp at Dickinson.”
Aberystwyth is in South Wales, about a two-hour drive from the industrial town of Merthyr Tydfil. In the 1800s, many people from Merthyr Tydfil emigrated to eastern Pennsylvania to work in the iron industry.
“I’m hoping that my time in Wales will allow me to better understand the Welsh ironworkers who came to Danville and will give me the knowledge and resources I need to spread their story to the people of my hometown,” Weaver said. “I look forward to learning about the libraries and museums in Wales, seeing how they differ from those in the United States.”
At Saint Vincent College, Weaver works at the Verostko Center for the Arts as a gallery assistant. He also has worked an internship with the Saint Vincent College Archives. Weaver is eager to share his experiences in Wales when he returns to Saint Vincent in the fall.
“I want this to be the start of something more—more studying abroad,” Weaver said. “In my essays, I’ve focused a lot on American politics and American history. I’d like to expand my horizons into something that’s connected to where I’m from and is also very different from me.”
As a high school senior in 2023, Weaver was the first-place finisher in Saint Vincent College’s 42nd annual Wimmer Scholarship Competition. He was awarded a four-year, full-tuition, room and board scholarship valued at more than $200,000.
PHOTO 1: Jonah Weaver
PHOTO 2: Jonah Weaver at the Verostko Center for the Arts