John C. McQuade (Photo by Suzanne Camarata) John C. McQuade of Garden City, is among 17 Boston College students who have won prestigious J. William Fulbright grants so far this year. The coveted post-baccalaureate study fellowships are given annually to the nation's best and brightest college students.

McQuade is a graduate of Chaminade High School in Mineola. A German Studies major, McQuade graduated from Boston College on May 18. With his Fulbright award, he will travel to Germany where he will serve as an English teaching assistant. During his tenure he plans to establish a film club where students could view and discuss American films and produce their own film project.

As an undergraduate, McQuade received a Certificate of Excellence in German from the German Consulate and was the inaugural winner of the American Association for Teachers of German Scholarship. As a member of the BC Irish Society, he volunteered at a local homeless shelter. He also participated in BC's Appalachia Volunteers Program, devoting his spring break to helping a community in need in Virginia.

McQuade joins an ever-increasing number of Boston College students to win top national awards, including Rhodes, Marshall, Churchill, Mellon, Truman, Goldwater and Beckman Scholarships, among other honors. In particular, Boston College is consistently among the nation's top producers of Fulbright award winners.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946, at the end of World War II, to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills. The program honors Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, long-time chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who sponsored the legislation establishing the program.