James Mayer Receives Fulbright Award to Turkey

St. Paul, Minn. – James Mayer, of Houston, Texas, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to Turkey.  Mayer graduated from Macalester College in May.

The Turkish Higher Education System (YÖK) recently established a number of new universities in central, southeastern and eastern Turkey. Mayer, who double majored in Classics (Classical Civilization) and History, will assist teaching conversational English and serve as cultural interpreter of the United States for Turkish students and colleagues at Selçuk University in Konya, Turkey. 

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships for U.S. graduating seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists to study abroad for one academic year. The Program also includes the English Teaching Assistant component.

“I spent a semester in Turkey while studying abroad in 2010 and cannot think of a more fascinating or beautiful country,” said Mayer.  “I look forward to giving back to the community that nurtured and inspired me as a study abroad student, and I hope to do some research and traveling on the side while I’m in Turkey.”

Mayer was among 50 students awarded English Teaching Assistantships this year to Turkey.  The Fulbright Commission sought “adventurous, well-rounded applicants” to assist in teaching conversational English and to help explain the United States to students in these “new pioneering universities,” who have little contextual understanding of American society and culture.

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. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. The Fulbright Program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given approximately 300,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. 

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,985 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism and civic engagement.  Learn more at macalester.edu  

July 21 2011

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