Two Temple seniors graduating today from the College of Liberal Arts have won prestigious scholarships to pursue their scholarly interests abroad from the Fulbright Program for U.S. Students, the federal government's flagship international exchange program. The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, was established in 1946 to foster mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other nations. Fulbright grants cover one academic year of study, research, creative projects or teaching assistantship experience overseas. The two graduating Fulbright winners also happen to be friends.

Names: Robert C. "Amir" Berry and Erin C. Cusack

Degrees received: Berry earned a B.A. in religion and Asian studies; Cusack earned a B.A. in political science and Spanish.

Hometowns: Media, Pa. (Berry) and Waxhaw, N.C. (Cusack).

Where they met: In the Honors Program lounge in Tuttleman Hall three years ago.

Where Berry’s going: Muscat, Oman, where he will continue his Arabic language studies and work on an independent study project exploring tribal democratic

institutions written into the Shariah laws of the Ibadhi sect, the nation's predominant form of Islam.

Where Cusack’s going: Madrid, Spain, where she will teach bilingual classes to schoolchildren and continue her thesis project comparing immigration policies in Spain and France, two nations whose different institutional responses to immigration challenge EU harmony.

Cusack’s graduation gig: She's one of the two students chosen to give the student address at the College of Liberal Arts' commencement ceremony.

Berry’s life-changing moment: His conversion to Islam about 4 1/2 years ago after years of religious self-exploration.

Cusack’s life-changing moment: Her semester abroad in Seville, Spain, during her junior year, when she fell in love with the country's cultural diversity.

His favorite class: Mariko Nagai's Japanese literature courses at Temple's Japan Campus.

Her favorite class: An international relations class at the University of Seville during her semester abroad.

His future plans: A career in international relations, and continuing his mission of teaching tolerance and exploding myths and stereotypes about Islam (and Americans).

Her future plans: A career in international relations focusing on immigration issues — perhaps working at the U.S.-Mexico border or in Latin America.