Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Persistence During Pandemic Leads Fulbrighter to Bulgaria

Tuesday, July 13, 2021, By Ellen de Graffenreid
Share
College of Arts and SciencesMaxwell School of Citizenship and Public AffairsRenée Crown University Honors ProgramStudents

Like many 2019 graduates, Nathan Shearn’s plans were disrupted when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Nathan Shearn standing in front of campus building

Nathan Shearn

After earning his bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Maxwell School and graduating with honors from the Renée Crown University Honors Program, he received a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Belarus. Unfortunately, as a result of the pandemic, the Fulbright program in Belarus was suspended and he was furloughed from his temporary job in his hometown of Buffalo.

Instead of giving up on his dream of teaching English abroad, Shearn started to think creatively. “I reached out to one of my contacts at the State Department, who I met during Fulbright orientation, and asked them if there were any job opportunities at the United States Embassy in Minsk, Belarus. I was able to make contact with someone at the embassy who suggested I teach some virtual classes,” he said. With a grant from the embassy and an affiliation with Minsk State Linguistic University, he gave three workshops a week with teachers and university professors on topics such as cultural diversity, learning styles and strategies, the U.S. educational system and classroom games and activities. He also led eight different classes each week with secondary school  pre-college students in seven different Belarusian cities, covering cultural knowledge of the United States, such as music, food, art, politics, sports and current events.

“Even in the virtual format, by the end, I really connected with a lot of the students. I learned their personalities and their classmates. It was a really great experience,” Shearn says.

As the pandemic wound down, Shearn hoped he would get to Belarus after all, but the ongoing political turmoil in the country made that impossible. So he took the Fulbright program up on an offer to be reassigned for the 2021-2022 academic year.  “I’m planning to go to graduate school to earn my Ph.D. in anthropology, so waiting another year wasn’t really appealing,” he says. “A few weeks later, I got an email to interview with Fulbright’s program in Bulgaria and was accepted.”

“Nathan’s persistence, creativity and adaptability in the face of obstacles are precisely the qualities that made him a strong Fulbright candidate and that will ensure his success during his Fulbright placement in Bulgaria,” says Jolynn Parker, director of the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising.” We’re thrilled that he will have this opportunity for an in-person teaching experience and know that he will be a wonderful representative of Syracuse University and the United States.”

As he learned more about Bulgaria, Shearn became more interested in experiencing the culture. He will be teaching in Kardzhali, a town in the southern part of the country with a large population of ethnic Turks. “I’m really interested in issues of migration and mobility. Bulgaria is a really interesting place because, historically, it’s been a crossroads of many different peoples and cultures,” he says. “Today, the country is experiencing new migration flows as more people fleeing violence and unrest in the Middle East make their way through the Balkans and many Bulgarians are looking for economic opportunities outside the country. These dynamics create interesting social and demographic changes both inside Bulgaria and beyond.”

While he won’t be doing any formal research during his Fulbright experience, Shearn says he is looking forward to learning more about the language and people, “I am looking forward to being immersed in a new culture and talking to Bulgarians about their lives. I think my Ph.D. work will be richer because I will have been exposed to different perspectives that are rooted in the history and cultures of the region.”

  • Author

Ellen de Graffenreid

  • Recent
  • Syracuse University Press Participating in Path to Open Program
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Cristina Hatem
  • A&S Chemistry Professor Receives Award From the American Chemical Society
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By News Staff
  • ‘Guys and Dolls’ opens Syracuse University Department of Drama 2023/24 Season
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Joanna Penalva
  • Libraries Add MindSpa Wellness Rooms
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse University Announces the Opening of the Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and Astrophysics
    Friday, September 29, 2023, By Kerrie Marshall

More In Campus & Community

Syracuse University Press Participating in Path to Open Program

Syracuse University Press is participating in Path to Open, a groundbreaking collaboration between university presses, libraries and JSTOR, to promote sustainable open-access publishing of high-quality scholarly eBooks and increase meaningful engagement with them. Through the program, Syracuse University Press will…

Libraries Add MindSpa Wellness Rooms

Syracuse University Libraries is adding two ‘MindSpa’ wellness rooms, designed similarly to the Barnes Center at The Arch Crowley Family MindSpa, on Sunday, Oct. 1, in Bird Library. The Bird Library MindSpa consists of two rooms – a Massage Chair…

LGBTQ History Month: A Milestone to Reflect, Celebrate and Grow Community

Each October, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Resource Center unveils a calendar that through the lenses of intersectionality, LGBTQ and global communities reflects on their history and contributions while looking to the future. The University’s official kickoff…

Christine Stallmann Named University’s Chief Compliance Officer

Christine Stallmann has been named the University’s chief compliance officer. The position, which will report directly to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Brett Padgett in the Division of Business, Finance and Administrative Services, is a key component of…

What to Expect With the Link Hall Renovations

Machinery and power tools echo throughout Link Hall as construction workers bustle about the building. Since the spring of 2022, Link Hall has been undergoing renovations, and big changes are on the horizon. Bruce Molino, director of space management and…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.