Skip to Content

National Fellowships and Scholar Programs

  • Tamera Sullivan standing in front of two traditional Taiwanese temples. On the left is a statue of a dragon. On the right is a statue of a tiger.

    Tamera Sullivan visits a temple in Taiwan while studying global health.

Building a better world

Posted on: March 6, 2023; Updated on: March 6, 2023
By Abbey Smith, kerner@email.sc.edu

USC alumna Tamera Sullivan will use her experience as a Fulbright and Pickering scholar to strengthen global partnerships and continue addressing public health issues.

Tamera Sullivan, a South Carolina Honors College graduate and 2019 Fulbright U.S. Student grant recipient, has added another title to her list of accolades: she was recently named a 2022-2023 Pickering Fellow.

Why it matters: The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship opens the door for students to help solve global problems as a U.S. Department of State foreign service officer. Through this program, Sullivan will earn a graduate degree in international relations so that she can address complex health, economic and environmental challenges with foreign governments and U.S. agencies.

What it offers:

  • $42,000 yearly scholarship for two years of graduate school
  • Two internships with the U.S. Department of State, one domestic and one international
  • Employment in the foreign service upon completion of degree

For Sullivan, earning the Pickering Fellowship is more than a pathway to a foreign service career: it is a way to pursue her passion for collaborative, large-scale problem solving.

“We create the best solutions in partnership with others,” she says—a lesson that she learned while completing her 2019 Fulbright study grant in Taiwan. As part of her Master’s of Science global health program at National Taiwan University, she worked  with classmates from Taiwan, Japan and South Korea on sustainable health and environmental initiatives and traveled to Japan to present these findings alongside her classmates.

Sullivan plans to use this international experience, along with her knowledge of science and public health, to work as a foreign service officer and continue encouraging students of color to pursue opportunities abroad. Earning the Pickering Fellowship is just the first step.

“I am excited to learn both in graduate school and as a diplomat, and become a better global citizen,” she says. “I hope to continue working with amazing people as we craft a better world for everyone.”

Learn more: For more information about the Pickering Fellowship, Fulbright U.S. Student Program or other national fellowship opportunities, visit National Fellowships and Scholar Programs.

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

©