History major--and Phi Alpha Theta member--Fernando Jara has earned several awards this spring, an impressive record indeed. The history faculty are very proud of his most recent achievements: After having written a strong paper for Dr. Baker in HIST 300 during winter quarter, Fernando entered the CSUB Student Research Competition in spring, presenting his work to faculty judges. His paper and presentation won First Place in both the Humanities and the Behavioral and Social Sciences categories. "The Friend of Muslims: Germany and the 1914-16 Struggle for a Muslim Uprising" was about how German and British intervention in the Middle East, intended to incite rebellion among various tribes, actually helped facilitate the rise of radical Islam in the region, as groups were disillusioned by unfulfilled promises from the West. This paper also won the Dean's Award in Humanities and Social Sciences as the best undergraduate paper in the Humanities, and was recognized at the school's Honors Convocation on June 5, 2008.

Most recently, Fernando has been awarded a CSU Sally Casanova Pre-doctoral Fellowship for 2008-09. He is the only CSUB recipient of this award. The award will enable Fernando (and his mentor, Dr. Mark Baker) to visit universities at which he is considering pursuing a doctorate.

Fernando, long interested in the Middle East and Central Asia, will work with Dr. Baker next year on a related research project as part of the Student Research Scholars grant program. He has lived in the Middle East and studied Arabic, and is spending much of this summer at Arizona State University in their Critical Languages Institute learning Uzbek through an 8-week intensive language program.

Congratulations and good luck with your future endeavors, Fernando!