Senior heading to Philippines on Fulbright scholarship

Like many students, Denver Nicks is gearing up for the end of this semester, only to head back to school in the summer by the time June rolls around. However, unlike many students, Denver Nicks will be headed to the University of the Philippines as a Fulbright scholar to examine firsthand the minority rights within their national government.

The political science and international studies double major was awarded the prestigious Fulbright fellowship to examine the Philippine "sectoral system" of government, which under its 1987 constitution ensures seats for women, indigenous peoples and other minorities.

"This government is modeled after ours, as the Philippines used to be an American colony," Nicks said. "But it's different because there are people in their House that don't have the same, very parochial interests that our House has."

In other words, rather than allotting a smaller number of representatives to sectors with lower populations like in our system of representative government, the Philippines' House makes sure that historically underrepresented sectors of its society always have the same number of seats.

Minority relations have long been a point of interest for Nicks whogrew up in Tulsa, Okla.

"Tulsa is home to the largest American race riot in history, and I went to a high school which wasn't integrated until the 1970s where students are now admitted on a racial quota basis," Nicks said. "So, it's definitely a city that is grappling with the concept of race and still has unresolved issues with it."

Nicks was also cared for by a Filippino babysitter during much of his youth.

"The Philippines has been a place I've been really interested in for a real long time, but never officially academically studied," Nicks said.

When he needed a research proposal idea to submit as part of his application he said, "I guess now that I'm graduating, combined with my interest in minority relations, culminated in deciding the time is right for a study of the Philippines' sectoral system."

Nicks says he thanks Dean Kathleen Hughley-Cook who served as an informal mentor to him throughout his college career, and suggested he apply to be a 'Fulbrighter.'

Since 1946, the Fulbright Scholarship, named for Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, has been sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. Close to 280,000 men and women in over 150 nations have participated in the program in its five decades with about 1,200 grants awarded in the U.S. every year.

Worried about the sheer odds of being awarded a grant, Nicks said that he laughed at first at Dean Hughley-Cook's suggestion he apply.

"But when she gave me a book about it, I decided to go through the application process and write my research proposal," Nicks said.

Nicks, who lived in Mexico during part of his elementary school education and speaks Spanish well, hopes he can also learn Tagalog, the language of the Philippines, and hopes that upon returning to America next March he can, "stay involved in working to improve my community, my global community and celebrating diversity and cultures."