Thirteen members of the class of 2017, and three alums from the class of 2016, have been offered Fulbright grants to do independent research, assistant-teach English or pursue a master’s degree abroad in the coming year.
For more than a decade, the Fulbright Scholar Program has recognized Amherst for its unusually high number of scholarship recipients. This trend has consistently placed the College high on the list of programs The Chronicle of Higher Education deems to be “top producers” of Fulbright scholars.
The fellowship is one of the most prestigious in the world, claiming among its alumni 43 Nobel laureates and 78 Pulitzer Prize winners. It operates in more than 155 countries worldwide, sponsored by the U.S. government to increase mutual understanding between Americans and citizens of other countries.
Some Fulbright scholars are offered grants to conduct research or pursue a one-year master’s degree in a participating Fulbright country, or to do some combination of research and course enrollment. Other Fulbrights are awarded an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to aid in teaching English and U.S. culture to non-native speakers in classrooms abroad.
All grantees receive round-trip transportation to the host country, as well as room, board, living expenses and health benefits; some grants may receive research allowance, enrichment activities, tuition, language study, pre-departure orientations and training in ESOL teaching.
Three seniors will be English Teaching Assistants in South Korea:
Clarque Brown ’17 has been offered an ETA to teach English in South Korea. A psychology major, she studied in France and China and worked on campus with Reader to Reader. Her long-term goals include pursuing a master’s degree with a possible focus on bilingual education.
Sophie Chung ’17, an English major, has been offered an ETA in South Korea. Chung currently writes for Soompi, an English-language website devoted to Korean pop culture. She is excited about experiencing the influence of “K-Pop” first-hand for her articles. She will later teach at a school in Lepan, Mexico, as part of a team creating an annual English-learning summer program. Ultimately, she wants to earn a master's degree in international educational policy.
Robert Kwark ’17 has been offered an ETA in South Korea. An outdoorsman, he wants to organize outdoor field trips for students. He also plans to engage with fellow musicians. He is a physics major who intends to pursue a career as a secondary school physics teacher, possibly becoming a policymaker in education.