Five Macalester Graduating Seniors Receive Fulbrights

(Left to right) Jon Dahl, Rebecca Galey, and Charles Nesler
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Five Macalester Graduating Seniors Receive Fulbrights

(Left to right) Anne Huber, Sarah Rasmussen
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St. Paul, Minn. – Macalester graduating seniors, Jon Dahl, Rebecca Galey, and Charles Nesler have received Fulbright English Teaching Assistant awards to work in Germany, and Anne Huber has received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award to work in Brazil.  Sarah Rasmussen received a Fulbright grant to conduct research in Nepal.

An English Teaching Assistant Program (ETA) places a Fulbrighter in a classroom abroad to provide assistance to teachers of English to non-native English-speakers. English Teaching Assistants help teach English language while serving as cultural ambassadors for U.S. culture. The age and academic level of classroom students varies by country, ranging from kindergarten to university level.

Sarah Rasmussen ’14, from Wayzata, Minn., majored in Anthropology, with a minor in Religious Studies and a concentration in Community and Global Health. She will be in rural far-western Nepal for 10 months working with the organization Possible, a nonprofit healthcare company that works with female community health volunteers to deliver high-quality, low-cost healthcare. Rasmussen will be researching these health volunteers and studying how they’re able to link local healing methods to biomedicine.  She’s hoping the Fulbright will help her decide what to do next – either pursue further studies in Anthropology, or do more applied work in the global health field.

Rasmussen is conducting field research on community healing practices in rural Nepal. Her Fulbright research grant to work in Kathmandu looks at how female community health volunteers are able to create alliances among practitioners of diverse health systems, out of Bayalpata hospital, which is a health facility operated by Possible. Her project is an expansion of her honors thesis. (Updated December 10, 2014)

Jon Dahl ‘14, a double major in German Studies and Theatre from Roseau, Minn., received an ETA to Hamburg, Germany for 10 months beginning in September, with the possibility of staying another year. His primary job will be to assist in English language classrooms, where he hopes to apply his interest in theatre education and active learning. As a performer and scholar, Dahl’s fellowship presents a unique opportunity for him to further explore the contemporary theatre and performance world in Germany. Afterwards, Dahl plans to continue seeking out opportunities for teaching and the arts.

Rebecca Galey ’14 a double major in German Studies and Political Science with a minor in Religious Studies, is from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.  She’ll be an ETA for the 2014-2015 academic year in the state of Saxony and will work in a German middle or high school teaching English.  When Galey completes her Fulbright obligations and returns to the U.S., she plans to move to Washington D.C and pursue a career in teaching. 

Charles Nesler ’14, a double major in Economics and German Studies from Winnetka, Ill., will be an ETA in Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state in Germany, for nine months. During his time there he will teach English to middle-school aged students. He would also like to get involved in athletics in the city or town where he is placed, and hopes to find enough time to travel through the rest of Germany.  Afterwards, Nesler plans to pursue a career in emergency medicine. 

Anne Huber ’14, a double major in Hispanic Studies and International Studies from Bloomington, Minn., received an ETA to a public university in Brazil. The grant lasts for the duration of the academic year, from March to November 2015. She won’t know her specific placement until this fall.  Huber feels her Fulbright is a unique opportunity for her to serve as a linguistic and cultural ambassador, combining her academic interests in both Hispanic Studies and International Studies.  When she finishes the Fulbright, Huber is considering the possibility of pursuing a career in the Foreign Service.

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 2,011 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism, and civic engagement. Learn more at macalester.edu

April 24 2014

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