This fall, Grace Gugerty ’19 will head to Thailand through a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award. There, she will serve in a primary or secondary school in a rural area, and hopes to implement a project involving the National Scouting Association of Thailand. She plans to draw on her service with Syracuse University Ambulance to teach English for emergencies and first aid skills.
Molly Bolan ’19, will head to Russia, also through a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award. Russia and the language is familiar to her—she took Russian in high school and spent last summer in Tbilisi, Georgia, as the recipient of a Critical Language Scholarship.
Gugerty and Bolan are two of eight Syracuse University graduating seniors and alumnae who will be traveling abroad through the Fulbright program, which allows university graduates to immerse themselves in culture and language in a foreign country teaching English or engaging in a research or study program.
The following alumna were also selected for Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship awards:
Emily Malina ’16, an alumna of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School, was selected for a Fulbright arts grant to Bolivia and Peru. Anastasia Selby ’15, G’18, an alumna of the College of Arts and sciences, was selected an alternate for an English Teaching Assistantship to the Czech Republic.
Molly Bolan ’19
Bolan graduated with bachelor’s degrees in photography in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and in information management and technology in the Whitman School of Management and the School of Information Studies. “I started taking Russian classes because I loved my high school’s Russian teacher, and from there I just found the culture and history of Russia really interesting, especially looking at how the country has changed over the last several decades,” she says.
She is focusing on cultivating personal connections and meeting people over the next year.
“I hope that this next year in Russia will strengthen my language skills so I can eventually become a foreign correspondent specializing in Russia and Russian-speaking countries,” she says.
Gugerty received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School. During her Fulbright year, she wants to work to build mutual cross-cultural understanding. “I am so excited to learn about Thai culture through immersion in my host community,” she says. “I want to teach my students to recognize their strengths and encourage a love for exploration and adventure.”
Grace Gugerty ’19
Gugerty’s ultimate goal is to one day become a doctor through a rural medical program. “I want to work in underserved communities to provide quality, culturally competent medical care,” she says. “As a Fulbright ETA, I will hone my skills as an educator to one day in the future present health information to patients in a way that is accessible and empowering. I admire Thai culture and its emphasis on empathy and caring for others, and am honored to have the opportunity to work with and learn from educators and students who are committed to serving their schools and community.”
The Fulbright program funds graduating seniors or university graduates to teach English, study or engage in research in a foreign country. Fulbright grantees are expected to engage in cultural exchange and immerse themselves in their host countries.
“These students and alumni will embark on a life-changing experience—life-changing for themselves and for the people they work with abroad,” says Chris Johnson, associate provost for academic affairs, professor of civil and environmental engineering and campus Fulbright advisor. “The Fulbright program is one our nation’s most effective vehicles for promoting cultural understanding across the globe. Thanks to their extensive community engagement, their cultural competence, and their passion for outreach, this batch of scholars is especially well-suited to act as ambassadors in their host countries.”
The application process itself is a valuable experience for students, who can seek assistance through the University’s Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA).
“For students who are interested in international engagement, the process of applying for a Fulbright can be very clarifying, and, for recipients, the program offers an extraordinary opportunity for a year of support to live, study and learn abroad,” says Jolynn Parker, director of CFSA and a campus Fulbright program advisor. “Fulbright’s goal of promoting mutual understanding between the United States and other countries is important and vital.”
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which is the largest U.S. exchange program with 1,900 grants awarded annually, was developed as part of U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright’s vision in 1945 for the “promotion of international good will through the exchange of students in the fields of education, culture and science.”
“Whether they are teaching English or conducting research abroad, students who receive a Fulbright award grow tremendously, both intellectually and personally, during the period of their grants,” Parker says.
Students interested in applying to the Fulbright program should contact the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising at 315.443.2759 or jmpark02@syr.edu. The campus deadline for the 2019-20 application cycle is Sept. 12, 2019.
