Lucas Thornblade, a candidate for May graduation from Hamilton, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Vietnam. He will study the establishment of family medicine as a practice in a communal health center in Khanh Hoa Province. Thornblade will survey and interview physicians who have undergone retraining in family medicine to measure their response and the development of primary care which has become a standard for cost-effectiveness and quality in rural health.
Thornblade, a biology major at Hamilton, is the recipient of a Bristol Scholarship. He did an independent study project through the School for International Training in Vietnam in 2006, and in 2005 conducted a research project at Cornell University. He did summer science research at Hamilton in 2004, and in 2006 was named a Freeman Asia Scholar. He is a member of the men's cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams and the Hamilton Choir and College Hill Singers. Thornblade is a member of the Hamilton Environmental Action Group and served as an Adirondack Adventure orientation leader from 2004-2006.
After completing his Fulbright travel, Thornblade plans to enroll in medical school to pursue a career in family medicine.
The purpose of the Fulbright Program is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills. The program is designed to give recent college graduates opportunities for personal development and international experience.
It offers invaluable opportunities to meet and work with people of the host country, sharing daily life as well as professional and creative insights. The program promotes cross-cultural interaction and mutual understanding on a person-to-person basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity and intellectual freedom. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by Congress to the Department of State. The U.S. Student Program awards approximately 900 grants annually and currently operates in more than 140 countries worldwide.
