What did you learn from your Fulbright experience?

I received an English Teaching Assistantship from the Fulbright Program, which provides funding for students, teachers, and professionals to work, teach, or do research abroad. I taught secondary English at two college-prep schools (called Gymnasium) in Nuremberg, Germany. I was assigned 14 different classes each roughly 20-30 students in size, and I was mainly involved in sparking discussion with and creating/giving lessons to these classes. We talked about a huge variety of topics related to American culture/history/ literature; everything from politics and gun control to rap music and the civil rights movement.

The biggest thing I learned was the direction I wanted to take in life moving forward. Since I was only giving lessons 12 hours per week (and always had Friday off!), I had a lot of time to explore my interests and figure out what I actually enjoyed and what I merely tolerated. That isn’t strictly related to the program itself, but it was the biggest thing I took away from the experience. From the experience directly, the biggest takeaway was probably how differently people from around the world understand their role in society. Germans are much more supportive of governmental activities to help the poor, even if that means much higher taxes; there’s more of a consensus that these programs benefit everyone in the long run. This isn’t so much the case here in the U.S, but living in a different culture, with Germans, I learned that this isn’t the default, that maybe these values are social constructs we have created and we can change.

Why should Berea students apply for the Fulbright?

There are a few reasons I think Berea students should apply for a Fulbright. First, it really is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I was able to visit 6 different countries and probably almost 50 cities during my 10 months abroad. All on my (roughly) $1100 a month stipend! Most students with a Berea background simply don’t have the resources to make this happen, I know I wouldn’t have otherwise. This brings me to my second point, Berea students have a unique advantage in the application process: we’re diverse (by Fulbright’s standards)! We represent a niche of applicants that the Fulbright program desperately lacks, people of color and those from low socio-economic backgrounds (this is purely based on my assessment of the people I met through the program).

Any wisdom you would like to offer them?

If you’re considering a program like this, I can’t recommend it enough. It was an astounding experience that showed me things about the world and myself that it would have been hard to discover otherwise. Play to your strengths in your application, have everyone and their brother/mother/sister read over it, go to the CTL, and overall just take the application process very seriously. Fulbright is a highly regarded fellowship/assistantship, and competition is fierce. That being said, I think Berea students are great applicants. I did it, and I think you can too. #fulbrightfriday #bereaabroad

If you want to apply, September 30 is Berea’s campus deadline. Click here for more information.

By Kerstin Wright, Center for International Education Education Abroad Team

On August 11, 2015, the Gilman Scholarship application window opened for Spring 2016 applications (and early Summer notification as well). Berea College students have won dozens of these national study abroad scholarships, which can be as high as $5000… $8,000 if a critical language scholarship is included).

Start your application today!

Want some application tips? Stop by our office at Woods-Penn 205 or shoot an email to Education Abroad Advisor Ann Butwell at ann_butwell@berea.edu

#BereaAbroad

The Center for International Education at Berea College is proud to announce that Janice D’Souza has been named as a 2015-2016 American India Foundation Clinton Fellow.

Janice graduated from Berea College in May of 2014 with a degree in Women’s and Gender Studies. She was active in the leadership of student government and a host of organizations while enrolled.

The American India Foundation (AIF) is dedicated to catalyzing social and economic change in India and building a lasting bridge between the United States and India. They were created in 2001 when President Clinton and Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee saw the need for a philanthropy platform that would connect the two countries. The American Indian Foundation has taken it upon itself, and succeeded, in making opportunities for India’s poor to live successful, productive lives while making a changing the lives of India’s less fortunate. They have successfully raised over 100 million dollars and impacted over 2.5 million lives.

One of the ways AIF Clinton has impacted lives is by pairing young professionals with leading NGO’s and social enterprises in India in order to “accelerate impact and create effective projects that are replicable, scalable, and sustainable.”

In an attempt to connect India and the United States, they have now expanded to include young Indians to work alongside fellows from the U.S.  Janice is originally from India, so she is part of this new fellowship trend. She will be placed with KC Mahindra Education Trust in Mumbai and will be working with two teams: Nanhi Kali (Girlhood Education Project) and Mahindra Pride School (Livelihood/Vocational training). The Nanhi Kali project was initiated in 1996 and tries to provide primary education to disadvantaged young girls in India. And Mahindra Pride School works with underprivileged youth by teaching them livelihood training to gain employment based skills.

We are excited for this impressive opportunity for Janice and know that she will make a big impact on India, the US and the world through this fellowship. We wish her well in this next chapter of her life.

Article by Robin Davis

Some speak of a post-racial America, suggesting that we have moved past racial discrimination and prejudice as a society. Yet, race and racial tensions seem to be the topics of the hour: it’s all we hear about on the news. Headlines featuring “Dolazel”, “police brutality” and etc. keep repeating themselves and reminding us that the abstract concept of race is still a very touchy and relevant subject in our country. Growing up as a biracial individual in Eastern Kentucky, 2008 Berea Watson fellow Alexander Gibson took it upon himself to learn more about the very concrete ways in which race affects people’s daily lives around the world.

For his Watson project, Alexander traveled to Venezuela, Vietnam, India and South Africa to understand how multiracial people across the globe define their identities individually and collectively. “When given a choice between the predominant ethnic group and a marginalized minority, most biracial people identify with the marginalized minority. This is interesting because you would expect that self-interested, rational, people would chose the identity that offers the most objective advantage, yet that is not the apparent result”, he told me.

Alexander’s year of exploration was fundamental in his effort to comprehend his own identity. It also opened his eyes to the realities of multiracial people in vastly diverse contexts. “The Watson Fellowship can be a highly-isolating experience”, Alexander reflected. “It made me feel less connected with my fellow Americans and more interested in global, as opposed to local, politics. A year as a vagabond creates a feeling of freedom and separateness from traditional human experiences that I don’t know I will ever recover from. Nor, am I sure I want to”.

The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, named after the founder of International Business Machines (IBM), offers graduating college seniors of “unusual promise” the opportunity to engage in one year of independent exploration and travel outside the United States. Its goals are to enhance the capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership, and to foster humane and effective participation in the world community—in other words, to develop future leaders who are self-reflective, well-informed, mindful citizens of the world. Only 40 institutions nationwide are allowed to nominate candidates for this esteemed prize. Berea College is the only school in Kentucky from which The Watson Fellowship accepts nominations. Each Watson Fellow is awarded $30,000 to pursue their international project.

Find more information on how to apply for the Watson Fellowship.

Applications due on Sept. 15th, 2015.

Thom Price ’96 is one of my favorite characters in the universe of Berea Watson fellows. The first time I heard about the guy who spent a year building gondolas in Venice was the day I learned the true meaning of jealousy. I didn’t know then that Thom had moved back to Berea a decade after his Watson year, and that I would soon find myself eating delicious tagliatelle al tartufo at his house and hearing all about his Italian adventures.

Born and raised in southern Appalachia, Thom designed his own independent major and graduated from Berea College with a degree in Appalachian studies. He wouldn’t let the obligations of formal education stay in the way of his learning, though. After his sophomore year, Thom decided to take time off from college and move to Maine, where he would start learning how to build traditional wooden boats. Before coming back to Berea, he also interned at a craft school in Asheville, which fermented his ambition to become a boat builder and fine woodworker.

During his Watson year, Thom was an apprentice of maestro Daniele Bonaldo’s—one of the only five remaining boatbuilding masters in Venice. Thom not only learned about the ancient tradition of gondola building, but he also discovered a new interest for languages, classical art and history, all while indulging in the pleasures of living in the City of Masks. “There are some very wealthy people in the world and they all come to Venice sooner or later: if you have a good story to tell, like being a gondola builder, they invite you to parties. If you behave, they keep inviting you back”, Thom added.

Thom’s future travel plans definitely include Venice—where he occasionally stops for a nostalgic café corretto with his old maestro—and Italy in general, where he goes to be with the in-laws. He and his husband Paolo plan to visit Spain and Portugal as well: their “no-family get-away”, as he described it.

The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, named after the founder of International Business Machines (IBM), offers graduating college seniors of “unusual promise” the opportunity to engage in one year of independent exploration and travel outside the United States. Its goals are to enhance the capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership, and to foster humane and effective participation in the world community—in other words, to develop future leaders who are self-reflective, well-informed, mindful citizens of the world. Only 40 institutions nationwide are allowed to nominate candidates for this esteemed prize. Berea College is the only school in Kentucky from which The Watson Fellowship accepts nominations. Each Watson Fellow is awarded $30,000 to pursue their international project.

Find more information on how to apply for the Watson Fellowship.

Applications due on Sept. 15th, 2015.

To make a long story short, Berea’s 2014 Thomas J. Watson fellow Dylan Hunziker has had a heck of a year! Dylan is now in Kyrgyzstan—after having graced Taiwan, Peru and Italy with his good looks and wits—, exploring the linguistic developments of Chinese diaspora communities. With a B.A. in Sociology in hands, Dylan set out in a journey of self-discovery and independent exploration, pursuing a project he had always been passionate about.

During his Watson year, Dylan has become very self-aware and aware of his surroundings. “I always thought of myself as sort of a misanthrope, but… nope, turns out I’m obsessed with people”, he told me. Dylan has had first-hand contact with several Chinese migrant communities around the globe, and has learned about their adaption to new locations—and how that’s shaped by language—, and also about their cultures and history. Dylan has also made personal connections with fascinating people.

My very first day in Taitung, Taiwan, I saw this mean looking woman inside the local Daoist temple, and for some reason I felt compelled to talk to her. I said to myself ‘Dylan, this year is about being brave’, so I sucked up my fear and asked her if she knew where I could get my fortune told. Little did I know she was the head of the Taodong Iching Research Association. In a few short days we became close friends, and I went to her house to study with her almost every day for two months… Her bravery, kindness and mysticism stayed with me the whole year and probably will my whole life.

A Watson year is indeed about bravery. It is also about adaptability, independence and passion. The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, named after the founder of International Business Machines (IBM), offers graduating college seniors of “unusual promise” the opportunity to engage in one year of independent exploration and travel outside the United States. Its goals are to enhance the capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership, and to foster humane and effective participation in the world community—in other words, to develop future leaders who are self-reflective, well-informed, mindful citizens of the world. Only 40 institutions nationwide are allowed to nominate candidates for this esteemed prize. Berea College is the only school in Kentucky from which The Watson Fellowship accepts nominations. Each Watson Fellow is awarded $30,000 to pursue their international project.

Find information and apply for the Watson Fellowship.
Applications due on Sept. 15^th, 2015.