Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Tongan wins Fulbright scholarship

Posted at 02:02 on 23 June, 2009 UTC

A 27-year-old Tongan national, Siale Bain-Vete, has been chosen as the Pacific’s first Fulbright scholar in more than a decade.

His selection was announced by the U.S. Embassy in Suva.

The Fulbright Foreign Student Program brings citizens of other countries to the United States for Master’s degree or Ph.D. study.

Mr Bain-Vete will be undertaking a Masters in Public Administration at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York.

Three more South Pacific Islanders are also due to receive Fulbright Scholarships later this year.