Students Selected for Fulbright Programs
May 21, 2012
Laura Adrien '12 received a fellowship through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program while Emily Shea '14 won an award through the US-UK Fulbright Commission. Adrien will travel to Macau, China, as part of an English Teaching Assistantship during the 2012-2013 school year; Shea will participate in the 2012 Fulbright King's College London Summer Institute for three weeks in July and August.
The Fulbright Program is the "flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." Adrien and Shea's recognitions represent the second straight year an Emmanuel student has been chosen to participate in a Fulbright program. Last year, Megan Rose Carr Laporte '11 received a Fulbright scholarship to teach English in Thailand.
Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies/Director of Fellowships Laurie Johnston worked with both students on their applications and noted, "This represents a significant achievement for both of these students. I am delighted to see that their hard work at Emmanuel and in these particular competitions is paying off." Dr. Johnston chairs the Fellowships Committee at Emmanuel, which helps students discover and apply for nationally competitive fellowships.
Adrien, an English Literature and Spanish major, chose Macau for its diverse language background. A special administrative region in China, the area has two official languages, Portuguese and Cantonese. She will teach English - a language rarely spoken in the region - in the Macau school system. Though the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship program does not require past experience with teaching English, the fact that Adrien has strong interests in linguistics and bilingualism should make the experience particularly worthwhile for her. She was recently accepted to a master's program in applied linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Boston, which she will begin when she returns from the Fulbright fellowship. Adrien previously studied abroad in Argentina, Peru and Spain, but looks forward to the challenge of immersing herself in such a different setting.
"The Asian language is a whole new ballgame," she said. "I wanted to do something new and different while I have the time to do it. It is going to be fun, hard and very interesting because the school system is so very different. I don't know what to expect."
Shea, meanwhile, will travel to London for the three-week cultural and academic program "Getting a Head Start: Learning about Leadership Through the 2012 Olympic Games." The program takes place July 22nd-August 11th while the Olympic Games are being held in London. In addition to studying Olympic history and politics, Shea will take part in cultural and social trips around the city. The London 2012 Festival, an immense cultural celebration, will also be happening this summer in the city, bringing together dance, music, theatre, visual arts, film and more from around the United Kingdom.
Shea is one of just six American students chosen to participate in the Kings College London program. In total, Emmanuel is one of only 30 American institutions to have a participant in the UK summer institutes.
"As a sociology major I am very interested in studying cultures and looking at their similarities and differences," she said. "There will be people from all over the world in London. I'm looking forward to it."
The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by then-Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. Since then, The Fulbright Program has provided approximately 310,000 participants-chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential-with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Currently, it operates in over 155 countries worldwide.
