Eleanor Hildebrandt, a member of the Boston College Class of 2015, has been awarded a prestigious J. William Fulbright grant, a coveted post-baccalaureate award given annually to the nation’s best and brightest college students.

A former editor-in-chief of the independent student newspaper, The Heights, Hildebrandt  graduated cum laude on May 18. She majored in international studies – and served as a peer advisor for the program – with a concentration in political science; she was an undergraduate research assistant in the university’s Political Science Department.

Through her Fulbright grant, she will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Nepal, where she will live in a rural area with a host family and teach at a local school. She will be paired there with a Nepali instructor and will serve as a resource for the students as they learn English. Hildebrandt also plans to be involved with the community as a tutor and hopes to participate in cultural activities.

“Nepal’s program appealed to me because ETAs are placed in homestays; having lived with a host family when I was in Anshan, China [in a 2010 immersion program through a U.S. Department of State scholarship], I know that immersion is crucial to learning the language, forming lasting bonds, and connecting with the community,” Hildebrandt said.

Hildebrandt is a 2011 graduate of Mercer Island High School, and the daughter of Thomas Hildebrandt and Adair Dingle.