Matthew Minarchek will travel to Indonesia for a year as a Fulbright research scholar.
An anthropologist, he will continue his thesis research on the social, political and economic impacts of alternative energy development on rural communities in Java, Indonesia.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational fellowship program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. This nationally competitive fellowship provides funding for one year of study in a foreign country designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
Minarchek is a 2009 graduate of Ohio University where he received a master of international affairs degree focusing on Southeast Asia, Indonesia and anthropology. He recently successfully defended his thesis "The Development Continuum: Change and Modernity in the Gayo Highlands of Sumatra, Indonesia."
He graduated from the College of Santa FE, New Mexico, in 2005 with a bachelor of arts degree in sciences and conservation studies.
Minarchek is a 1999 graduate of Cambridge High School. He and wife Rebakah, who is also an anthropologist, will be residing in the village of Cinta Mekar on the island of Java beginning in June.
He is the son of John and Cheryl Minarchek, Byesville.