Six graduating Macalester seniors and one alumna receive Fulbrights

Eura Chang, Maggie Joyce, Cameron Kesinger, and Jordan Lim
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Six graduating Macalester seniors and one alumna receive Fulbrights

Anne Gavin and Irene Gibson
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Six graduating Macalester seniors and one alumna receive Fulbrights

Brittany Landorf '14
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St. Paul, Minn. – Macalester graduating seniors, Eura Chang, Maggie Joyce, Cameron Kesinger and Jordan Lim have received Fulbright English Teaching Assistant awards to work in Senegal, Germany, Brazil and Malaysia respectively. Anne Gavin has received a Schuman European Union research grant to spend three months each in Malta, Italy and Greece and Irene Gibson won a research grant to Kuwait. Alumna Brittany Landorf ’14 received an English Teaching Assistant award to work in Turkey.

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

Eura Chang ’15, a double major in Political Science and Educational Studies from Rochester, Minn., received an ETA to Senegal for nine months beginning this fall.  She will be returning to Senegal where she studied abroad her junior year.  She’s interested in working with English Language Learners in the future so the Fulbright will be a chance for her to start her career in education while gaining a non-U.S. perspective on schooling. While in Senegal, Chang will also spend time working with local non-profit organizations especially those that are grassroots and community-based.  When Chang returns to the U.S. she’d like to move to Chicago and work in education policy and/or reform.

Anne Gavin ’15, an Anthropology major from Mendota Heights, Minn., won a Schuman European Union policy research grant.  She’ll spend three months each in Malta, Italy and Greece researching irregular boat migration from the Middle East and North Africa to Southern Europe and how the European Union policy on asylum affects those patterns. Her Fulbright research will focus on two aspects of this migration.  First, she hopes to highlight how current EU policy impacts the situation for asylum seekers.  There is a rule in Europe called the “Dublin Convention” which states that refugees must apply for asylum where they land.  As a result, the Mediterranean countries are overwhelmed and cannot provide adequate support services. Gavin will also research how unaccompanied minors are processed at European borders.  Her grant specifically funds research regarding European Union-United States policy so she hopes to apply lessons learned in Europe to improve processing of unaccompanied minors at our own borders in the United States.  After she graduates, she’d like to continue working in the humanitarian sphere, researching evidence-based practices and translating this research into policy.  Eventually, she’ll most likely go to graduate school to study public health, development, and/or international relations.

Irene Gibson ’15, a triple major in International Studies, Arabic, and Political Science from Carmel, Ind., won a research grant to Kuwait.  She plans to investigate how regional upheaval, specifically in Iraq, has affected how university students view a variety of social issues, including health, religion, politics, security, the economy and foreign relations. Gibson sees her Fulbright as a chance for both personal and academic growth and hopes to learn more about Kuwaiti life and society. After she graduates, she plans on attending graduate school and is interested in working for both the State Department and the nonprofit sector.

Maggie Joyce 15, a double major in International Studies and German from Atlanta, Ga., received an ETA to Germany for 10 months beginning in September. Joyce’s English Teaching Assistantship will mark her second extended stay in Germany, having studied abroad in Freiburg im Breisgau for her fall semester in 2013. She looks forward to re-immersing herself in German culture and learning more about the German education system, specifically the selection process after primary school and its impact on student identity and self-confidence. When she completes her Fulbright she hopes to eventually get a masters degree in public policy and administration.

Cameron Kesinger ’15, an International Studies major from Sammamish, Wash., received an English Teaching Assistantship to Brazil.  The Fulbright will bring together many of the interests he’s explored during his time at Macalester. For example, he taught English at a middle school setting with a non-profit organization.  With his Fulbright, he’ll be working at a public university in conjunction with the U.S. and Brazilian governments. He’s also conducted independent research in a foreign country, but in Brazil, he’ll have the freedom to pursue a nine-month project of his choice, most likely working in public interest law and immigrant rights advocacy.  He expects to go to law school to study civil law, public interest law, and/or international law, but only after spending a significant amount of time abroad, possibly working in Central America or Mexico with a non-profit organization or with the U.S. government through a program like the Peace Corps. His career plans include advocating for human rights, either working in the government or with one of the many non-profits that fight to ensure that the law protects, rather than maligns, those subject to injustice.

Jordan Lim ’15, a Geography major from Cupertino, Calif., won an ETA to Malaysia. Lim views the Fulbright as an ultimate post-Macalester experience allowing him to travel and work towards becoming the best teacher he can be.  He sees Malaysia as a staggeringly diverse country that he hopes to learn about through living and working alongside his colleagues and mentors.  After Macalester he would like to work with youth or become an educator.

Brittany Landorf ’14, from Eau Claire, Wis., won an English Teaching Assistantship to Turkey.  Not only does Landorf see her Fulbright as an opportunity to learn about the myriad complexities that define Turkey and its people, it will also allow her to continue her research of online female activism and social protest movements in Turkey that she began at Macalester. She’s also hoping to challenge herself in the classroom, using the knowledge she gained working with English Language Learners with City Year Boston.   After completing the Fulbright, she plans to pursue graduate programs in International Studies with a focus on women and gender in religion.  She may also consider staying abroad another year or working with international development organizations in Washington, D.C.  

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 2,045 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism, and civic engagement. Learn more at macalester.edu

May 4 2015

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