Fulbright-mtvU Fellows

Blue Ribbon Panel

Mold-breakers from all corners of the music industry, including Wyclef Jean, Serj Tankian from System of a Down, Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio and Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, signed on to help us pick the mtvU-Fulbright fellows below.

Alexis Tucker

School: Princeton University
Major: French and African Studies
Country Visiting: France
Fulbright_Alexis@mtvu.com

Alexis Tucker, who graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in French and African Studies in May 2008, is traveling in France to study how socially engaged French rap music and hip-hop culture has addressed the aftermath of the 2005 riots and the French election. She will produce a multimedia presentation and a documentary that reflect the political role of hip-hop in France.

Katie Day Good

School: Loyola University
Major: Anthropology and Asian Studies
Country Visiting: Mexico
Fulbright_Katie@mtvu.com

Katie Day Good, who graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a B.S. in Anthropology and Asian Studies, is traveling in Mexico to produce podcasts that anthropologically explore the Mexican youth renaissance of performing various pre-rock music styles. Working with the School of Mexican Music in Mexico City and the danzon and son jarocho of Veracruz, Ms. Good’s podcasts will serve Mexico as documents of a new cultural trend.

Melissa Adams

School: Emory University
Major: Public Health
Country Visiting: Uganda
Fulbright_Melissa@mtvu.com

Melissa Adams, who graduated from Emory University with a Masters in Public Health, is traveling in Uganda to work on a Hip-Hop Therapy Project in which war- and AIDS-affected youth in Northern Uganda learn to beat box, break dance, and create hip-hop with local instruments. She will conduct an assessment of the children’s needs and available resources and use the data to determine how best to further meet their psychosocial needs through hip-hop.

Ainsley Breault

School: University of Southern California
Major: Communication
Country Visiting: New Zealand
Fulbright_Ainsley@mtvu.com

Ainsley Breault, who graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Communication and minor in Cinema-Television, is traveling to New Zealand to research the role of music in keeping the Maori population at the forefront of society. She will culminate the academic year by obtaining a one-year certificate in Maori music and chronicle two significant Maori music events, sharing her findings through two 30 minute rockumentary-style digital videos.

Spencer Orey

School: University of California, Berkeley
Major: Anthropology
Country Visiting: Mali
Fulbright_Spencer@mtvu.com

Spencer Orey, who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in Anthropology, is traveling to Mali. There he will study the rich tradition of griot musicians who are known as living embodiments of cultural knowledge. He will also examine their role in Mali’s transition to democracy. From his findings he will create a compilation of music.