Anthropology doctoral candidate receives Fulbright Scholar Award

Christina Pomianek, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology, will research the transition from informal cooperative finance to formal microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the borderlands of West Kalimantan, Indonesia Borneo, thanks to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Her fieldwork will begin January 2010 and will be conducted in the provincial capital of West Kalimantan, Pontianak, and in borderland longhouses throughout the region.

Pomianek says she was on cloud nine for a week after finding out she received this grant.

"Getting the Fulbright is a huge honor," says Pomianek, "but it also meant that I could go ahead with my plans for fieldwork, which is what I have been working toward for five years. Those plans are finally coming to fruition."

Pomianek's research will focus on the changes in work and commerce as a result of the corporate national banks such as MFIs, compared to the traditional, local means of generating capital. "Arisan" and "kongsi" are informal organizations that have customarily formed in these communities where women will pool their money and resources to exchange with each other. Pomianek will explore the social and economic changes associated with the new opportunities in which funds are obtained outside the community through MFIs.

In addition to the Fulbright Program, which allows for 10 months of research, Pomianek has applied to other programs so that she may spend additional time in Indonesia. Her goal is to be in the field for a total time of 13 to 18 months.

Pomianek was always interested in social problems and social studies in high school at St. Joseph's Cathedral in St. Louis. She took her first anthropology class her freshman year at Truman State University. She continued her studies in that field while obtaining her undergraduate degree. After a professor encouraged her to attend graduate school, she researched the anthropology department at the University of Missouri and that is when she read about Reed Wadley, an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, on the department's Web site.

"His environmental and ecological research matched my interests," says Pomianek.

That knowledge made her decision to come to MU easy. Wadley became her mentor and helped her through her masters and her coursework for her doctorate.

"Receiving the Fulbright is bittersweet," Pomianek says. "Dr. Wadley passed away from an illness last June; his influence is the reason I work in Indonesia."

Wadley's main research was ecological and environmental anthropology. His chief focus was to increase understanding of complex human­environment interactions. Wadley's future research goals were to focus a broader investigation of long-term land use and land cover charge, especially as structured by cross-border social and economic networks and by the dramatic political economic changes stemming from the Asian economic crisis of 1997.

The application process for the Fulbright Program is short, which can be a challenge, Pomianek says, because it forces the applicant to be concise. It includes a two-page proposal to convince the panel that the research is worthy and a one-page self-reflection personal statement. Mary Shenk, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Pomianek's advisor, provided guidance in writing the proposal.

They want to know what motivates you," says Pomianek. "They also want to make sure you are capable of communicating in a foreign country."

It was during this time that it became clear to Pomianek why she wanted to do this research.

"I looked at my motivation, and I felt a sense of commitment to my mentor Reed Wadley," says Pomianek. "I wanted to carry out the plans we had been making over the past several years. I wanted to meet the people with whom he worked and called his brothers and sisters."

Craig Palmer, associate professor of cultural anthropology, is someone from whom Pomianek has also received constant support.

"She is the most professional academic I have known," says Palmer. "She is also the most modest. She has a truly unique combination of poise and determination."

Pomianek has already studied abroad for six months in Spain and has visited Indonesia previously, so she feels confident about her upcoming journey. However, she says she is anxious because of the remoteness of the field sites in Borneo and she is unsure how to get from place to place. However, she has no concerns about working and living with the people of Indonesia and describes them as "exceedingly kind."

"This is only the start," says Palmer. "Although she is well on her way to a stellar academic career, I won't be surprised if she outgrows academia and goes on to have an even greater impact on the world."

Pomianek is willing to assist other students with their Fulbright applications or anthropology questions.

The Fulbright Program, established in 1946 and named for Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program has provided almost 300,000 participants chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

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Christina Pomianek
Department of Anthropology
Mary Shenk
Craig Palmer

Fulbright Program