By Emily Press<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congratulations to UVM Alumni and now Fulbright recipients Leah Campbell, Justin Abbott and Lauren Fedowa!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leah Campbell \u201916: Teaching\nAssistantship, Taiwan <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your classroom\nlooks very different from that of the generation before yours, and barely\nresembles the classrooms from the preceding generation. These days, elementary\nschool students navigate the internet better than most septuagenarians; middle\nschool teachers have networks of syllabi on chrome-books and the cloud; and social\nmedia connects students from all corners\nof the globe in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leah Campbell\nunderstands the climate of education is evolving, and she is thrilled to pair\nher passions for global studies and education as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant\nin Taiwan. Leah believes the best educators are those who widen their own world\nviews and let their personal experiences flow into the classroom: \u201cas an\neducator you need new experiences in your early years. If you stay in a bubble\nyou will not grow or be pushed by new ideas and philosophies. Teaching in\nanother country gives you perspective on how different educational systems\nwork. I\u2019m interested in seeing new ways to teach.\u201d In addition to learning\nabout Taiwan educational systems, Leah plans to implement her own physical\neducation and health program at her host school, with an emphasis on Yoga and\noutdoor activities. Leah hopes these health initiatives \u2013 common elements in\nVermont schools \u2013 will complement traditional Taiwanese education; and she\nhopes the pedagogical methods she learns in Taiwan will translate back to Vermont\neducation reciprocally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a student, Leah\nstarted in Global Studies, then switched into the more practically-focused Early\nChildhood Special Education program. She had always liked the idea of being an\neducator \u2013 inspired in part by her mother\u2019 work, and her own strong desire to\nmake a difference in people\u2019s lives. Outside of coursework, Leah completed two\npracticums at the UVM Children\u2019s Center and spent her senior spring semester\nteaching in a South Burlington public high school. She applied for a Fulbright\nin Thailand as a senior, and was not accepted, but she saw it as a blessing in\ndisguise. For the next two years Leah taught in Swanson, Vermont. Teaching\nthere gave her the confidence to reapply for a Fulbright in Taiwan, to which\nshe was accepted. Pathways to success are rarely linear. Leah\u2019s story is a\ngreat example of how, with an open mind, a hitch along the way can turn out to\nbe a push in the right direction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin Abbott \u201918: Teaching\nAssistantship in South Korea<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKorean barbeque,\nconcerts, cultural energy and Soju\u201d were just a few things Justin looked\nforward to experiencing as a Teaching Assistant in South Korea, when applying\nfor a Fulbright. It was popular culture, namely K-pop, that pulled Justin in to\nlearning Korean as a UVM sophomore and sent him on his way to a Fulbright\nsenior year. Aside from the element of cultural immersion, Justin is giving\nback: he gets \u201cto be in charge of group of kids and has the opportunity to\nimpact students\u2019 lives during critical periods for language acquisition.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justin was\npassionate about mentoring younger undergraduates through extra-curricular\nactivities at UVM; and as a senior, he took on a more academic mentorship role as\na TA in Biochemistry. He was a member of the Boys and Girls ELL club, the East\nCoast Asian Student Union and a Pharmacy Technician, majoring in Neuroscience\nand Pharmacology. After his Fulbright, Justin plans to become a neurologist,\nand perhaps revisit Korea. The cultural competencies and practical\nunderstanding of how brains acquire languages he\u2019s gaining in South Korea will\nserve Justin well as a physician. On a more personal note, Justin is reconnecting\nwith his roots: he was adopted and raised in America, but Justin was born in\nSouth Korea. Justin has been interested in Korean culture his whole life (he\u2019s\ntaken Tae Kwon Doe lessons since the age of seven) and hopes to track down his\nbirth parents while he\u2019s abroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lauren Fedewa MA \u201918: Research\nAward, Hanover, Germany<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Little known fact:\nThe University of Vermont is home to one of the world\u2019s most robust Holocaust\nStudies programs. It\u2019s what brought Lauren Fedewa to UVM as a graduate student.\nLauren graduated from the University of Maryland in 2015 as a double major in\nGerman and History. After hearing about the UVM Miller Center for Holocaust Studies\n(at the Holocaust Museum in D.C.) she emailed her proposal for graduate studies\nto four of the center\u2019s renowned faculty (history professors Dr. Jonathan\nHuener, Dr. Alan Steinweis, Dr. Steven Zdatny and Dr. Francis Nicosia). \u201cDon\u2019t\nbe afraid to send a resume and a research proposal\u201d Lauren advises hopeful\nresearchers. She was accepted as a grad student under Huener, and had a great\nexperience: they met \u201cthroughout the entire process \u2013 the proposal, the\nbibliography, and several rounds of editing.\u201d Lauren earned her MA at UVM and\nwrote her thesis on Foreign Child-Care Facilities in Nazi Germany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working in labs and as a TA at UVM\nhelped her map out post-graduate goals. She wants \u201cto become a public historian\nand work at a museum, in programming and outreach.\u201d Lauren applied to the DAAD\nProgram and the Fulbright Scholarship as an undergraduate but was not accepted.\nReflecting back, she realized her initial \u201cproject scope was too large\u201d and\nneeded a narrower focus. Lauren was much more confident in the specificity and\nglobal perspective of her Fulbright proposal the second time around. She\nrecommends future applicants \u201cconsider what it means to be an ambassador and\nthe cultural connection aspect of the scholarship. You\u2019re not there for your\npersonal goals, you\u2019re there to interact with the local community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a Fulbright scholar, Lauren is\nstudying the development and management of German foreign child-care facilities\nduring World War II, with the Historisches Seminar at the Leibniz University in\nHanover, Germany. The access she has to rare archives is one of the biggest\nmotivations behind her application, alongside the opportunity to teach and\ntutor undergrads, volunteer at German museums, and be immersed \u201cin a German\nUniversity and community.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Program Information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Fulbright U.S.\nStudent Program was founded in 1947, on the principles of international\ncooperation, and has since facilitated over 360,000 opportunities for work and\nstudy abroad. Funding comes from U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of\nState’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and is the largest\nU.S. exchange program providing grants for recent graduates, master and\ndoctoral candidates and young professionals in over 140 countries worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nFulbright Program offers three types of scholarships: Open Study\/Research Awards,\nEnglish Teaching Assistant Awards, and Fully-funded Graduate Degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For help building a resume, see the\nCareer Center in the Hub (100 Davis). Open office hours run from 10 am to 4 pm\non Tuesdays. We ask that applicants have their resumes reviewed at the Hub\nprior to booking an appointment for fellowship advising with FOUR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For help with application materials\nfor Fulbright Scholarships or DAAD Rise visit FOUR at the Hive (University\nHeights North on Athletic Campus, Suite 017). Open office hours at the Hive are\nThursdays from 1 pm to 4 pm. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Emily Press Congratulations to UVM Alumni and now Fulbright recipients Leah Campbell, Justin Abbott and Lauren Fedowa! Leah Campbell \u201916: Teaching Assistantship, Taiwan Your classroom looks very different from that of the generation before yours, and barely resembles the classrooms from the preceding generation. These days, elementary school students navigate the internet better than … <\/p>\n