乐播传媒 announces 12 new Fulbright Student awards for 2022-23
乐播传媒 has received 12 Fulbright Student Award offers for 2022-23 to engage in teaching and research opportunities around the world.
The Fulbright program is the U.S. government鈥檚 flagship international educational exchange program for accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals to study, teach, or pursue important research and professional projects around the world. This year鈥檚 group is set to travel to 10 countries, working across four continents.
乐播传媒 has been named a Top Producer of Fulbrights for 11 straight years, most recently in 2021-22, and now heading toward a dozen.
Eleven of the Fulbright Student Awards are English teaching awards that will take students to Andorra, Argentina, Colombia, Czech Republic, Germany, Mauritius, Mexico, Taiwan, and Uzbekistan.
The 12th award, a Fulbright Study/Research Award to Maya Benziger 鈥�22, will fund research in Mongolia on the effects of environmental change on movement and habitation patterns in that nomadic East Asian country.
In Mongolia鈥檚 capital city of Ulaanbaatar, she will seek out experts in government and education to gain an understanding of the forces driving migration. She will then shift her focus , an informal city of yurts that has sprung up around Ulaanbaatar.
Then it鈥檚 out to the remote steppes of Mongolia. 鈥淚 will spend a few months living with a nomadic family to experience environmental hardships first-hand,鈥� Benziger says. She hopes to gain 鈥渃ritical information on how Mongolia, which has a successful history of including non-sedentary populations into the nation and thus offers unique insights, is handling changing patterns of movement and habitation.鈥�
The goal of the Fulbright program and the mission of 乐播传媒 College are powerfully complementary, says Robert Strong, a lecturer in English and director of National Fellowships.
鈥淔ulbright understands the 鈥榯ransformative power of our differences,鈥欌�� said Strong, . 鈥淎nd as these students travel into the world of COVID transitions, I tell them to prioritize happiness and safety; they always need to have both.鈥�
Maya Benziger 鈥�22
Name and Fulbright Award: Maya Benziger 鈥�22 of Aurora, Ill., a Study/Research Award for Mongolia
乐播传媒 Majors: History, Politics, Music
Relevant Experience: Work at the Center for Wisdom鈥檚 Women in Lewiston; taught debate to middle-school students in Boston with Debate Spaces, founded by Matthew Summers 鈥�15 and Tessa Holtzman 鈥�17.
乐播传媒 Activities: Merimanders music director and president; Brooks Quimby Debate Council novice director
Fulbright Research Purpose: Benziger will research the effects of environmental change on movement and habitation patterns in Mongolia, specifically focusing on the political and economic issues that arise as a result of changing climate conditions.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Mongolia: Using music and art to create cross-cultural connections, and to connect with the Ger communities on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, including youth programs.
Plans After Fulbright: Graduate school to pursue a law degree with a focus on international and refugee law.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee Said: 鈥淢aya鈥檚 interest in political and economic tensions related to environmental and ecological changes in Mongolia show her ability to synthesize current and past problems and history, and these interests permeate her everyday life in conversations and classes. Maya cares deeply about the people and organizations she works with, and strives to create meaningful bonds and build strong communities.鈥�
More about Benziger: Walking to the Center for Wisdom鈥檚 Women every day for work helped her feel connected to the Lewiston community and find her focus. 鈥淚 want those deeper levels of humanity that come from a dedicated study of people, what they think, and why they act.鈥�
Her areas of study also gave her the perspective she needed to engage fully with her work.
鈥淪tudying history doesn鈥檛 instantly make me more compassionate, but it does give me the tools to understand where people are coming from. Studying politics might seem abstract, but it gives me the ability to better understand why people make the decisions that they do. Studying music doesn鈥檛 psychically connect me with every person I meet, but it allows deeper emotional bonds to form, even without words. And sometimes, all it takes is a daily walk to work to figure this out.鈥�
Elene Chamberlin 鈥�22
Name and Fulbright Award: Elene Chamberlin 鈥�22, an English teaching assistant grant for Andorra
乐播传媒 Major: Biology
Relevant Experience: Taught English to children in Basque Country, the autonomous community in Spain; teaching assistant in biochemistry and taught yoga at 乐播传媒; English language learner tutor at Lewiston High School.
乐播传媒 Activities: Feminist Coalition president; Yoga Kula Club president.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Andorra: To volunteer at a food bank or women鈥檚 shelter and organize and offer a yoga class outside her workplace, as well as English classes and cooking or art activities.
Plans After Fulbright: To attend medical school.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee said: 鈥淓lene鈥檚 interest in Andorra is partly motivated by Andorra鈥檚 uniqueness as a small sovereign country standing at the crossroads of many cultures. Her personal knowledge of the Basque Country serves as a contrast to Andorra as she delves into the history and development of Andorra to appreciate the factors that led to its formation. Her compassion and empathy make her a good teacher, and she is not afraid to take risks and challenge her own boundaries. Elene is poised, kind, and engaging 鈥� she simply draws others to her.鈥�
More About Chamberlin: The first day of eighth grade was particularly challenging for Chamberlin. Her family had moved to Basque Country for the year, to the town her mother had grown up in. Despite the family connection, Chamberlin felt like an outsider. So she went to work, adopting a learn-everything, fear-nothing mindset.
鈥淚 let my curiosity lead me to new situations and new experiences,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淚 wanted to learn about how they could stomach eating octopus soup for lunch, and they wanted to know if school in America was like High School Musical. Day by day, bit by bit, these conversations built bridges and chipped away the differences between us. The process was a slow accumulation of small victories.鈥�
Name and Fulbright Award: Henry Colt 鈥�19, an English Teaching Assistant Award for Argentina
乐播传媒 Major: Anthropology
Relevant Experience: Special education paraeducator at Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School in Juneau, Alaska; educator in residence for experiential learning at Medomak Middle School in Waldoboro, Maine; award-winning writer who ; volunteer with Lewiston鈥檚 Tree Street program.
乐播传媒 Activities: Cross country captain; track and field; played guitar and banjo for the American String Band ensemble.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Argentina: To listen to and study the traditional classical guitar playing styles of Argentina, including partner dance music like the Tango, culminating in a performance. He also hopes to share his love and knowledge of bluegrass music, running, and writing with the people he meets.
Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a master鈥檚 degree in creative nonfiction and to continue to perform music.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee said: 鈥淗enry is an amazing writer 鈥� and also very funny. His approach to thinking and conversation is quirky, in a way that seems meant (even if unconsciously) to bring all people to good humor and mutual understanding.
Last summer, instead of sitting on the couch when his job was canceled due to COVID, Henry networked his way into two socially distant musical groups, one of which led to a transcription project of an early bluegrass banjo pioneer. It’s fun to talk with Henry, and one leaves the exchange feeling inspired about what is possible in the world.鈥�
More About Colt: While on a nightime assignment as a reporter with Alaska鈥檚 Daily Sitka Sentinel, Colt accidentally walked straight off a dock and into Sitka Channel. But before scrambling back to land, he made sure he retrieved his all-important reporter’s notebook, which he found floating nearby.
He knows what to do to 鈥済et the task at hand completed,鈥� said a colleague, who came to admire Colt鈥檚 keen interest in the world around him, his creativity in writing about it, and his genuine fondness for people he meets.
Etti Cooper 鈥�22
Name and Fulbright Award: Etti Cooper 鈥�22, an English Teaching Assistant Award for Mexico
乐播传媒 Major: Biology
Relevant Experience: Intern with Latina Republic as an immigration writer; peer tutor and teaching assistant at 乐播传媒.
乐播传媒 Activities: Academic Resource Commons peer-assisted learning leader for biology and Spanish; Department of Biology teaching assistant; Admission tour guide.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Mexico: Cooper plans to seek out naturalists and locals to teach her about the flora and fauna of Mexico, as well as create art on her own and in community.
Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology and teach at the university level.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee said: 鈥淓tti is curious and dedicated to learning the truth, and while she is respectful of different perspectives, she is not afraid to contradict a statement that isn鈥檛 backed up by facts. She will incorporate her appreciation for the natural world and passion for making science education accessible into the community in which she lives.鈥�
More About Cooper: Cooper鈥檚 honors thesis in biology looks at how temperature changes might differently affect two different species of ant. She didn鈥檛 have to go far to collect her specimens, collecting one species on the sidewalk outside Carnegie Science Hall, and the other around Mount David.
The first time Cooper tried to teach English to a Spanish speaker, she started by giving her student, a woman with a business degree from her native Venezuela, 鈥渇ive pages of immaculately typed grammatical rules,鈥� she recalls. It didn鈥檛 turn out well. The woman had already achieved some English comprehension, which Cooper had not incorporated into her approach.
鈥淚 learned that in order to determine how to teach, I must first learn how and why the students had been learning and tailor my teaching style to their educational background.鈥�
Julia Feist 鈥�22
Name and Fulbright Award: Julia Feist 鈥�22, an English Teaching Assistant Award for Germany
乐播传媒 Major: Psychology
Relevant Experience: English literature tutor at Lewiston Middle School; peer tutor for English writing for Academic Resource Commons at 乐播传媒.
乐播传媒 Activities: American String Band Ensemble, Jewish Student Union, German Club.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Germany: Feist will continue performing music, and hopes to join a band or music club while in Germany, and explore and photograph the country.
Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a career in psychology, with a focus on researching language learning and neuroplasticity.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee said: 鈥淛ulia looks forward to engaging with her community in Germany through any of her wide-ranging interests: playing piano, guitar, and bass; reading, writing, photography; and outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. Julia is committed to sharing her culture and learning about others鈥�, as evidenced by her heavy involvement with the Jewish Student Union at 乐播传媒 despite being raised in a non-practicing Christian family.鈥�
More About Feist: Feist has worked at a local restaurant in her hometown of Burlington, Mass., since 2018. She started as a busser, and was content, even as the restaurant implemented COVID-19 protocols. 鈥淎s a certified neat freak, I was kind of thriving,鈥� she says.
But then she was pressed into service as a hostess when the restaurant was short-staffed. Unexpectedly, the new duties 鈥減rovided me with a sense of responsibility that forced me to find my voice,鈥� including enforcing mask mandates and standing up for her colleagues. That taught her the value of teamwork. 鈥淚鈥檓 part of a fantastic team of people who hold each other up on tough nights. I鈥檝e gained a sense of accountability I never knew before.
Colleen Ndemeh Fitzgerald 鈥�14
Name and Fulbright Award: Colleen Ndemeh Fitzgerald 鈥�14, a study/research grant for Germany
乐播传媒 Majors: Dance, Anthropology
Relevant Experience: An accomplished dancer at 乐播传媒 who also majored in anthropology, Fitzgerald has pursued a solo dance/activist career since graduation. An activist of Kpelle (Liberian) and Euro-American descent, she is a first-generation Liberian-American who has spent recent years 鈥渞econnecting with a heritage that was interrupted in my lineage due to processes of colonization and economic migration.鈥�
乐播传媒 Activities: 乐播传媒 College Dance Company
Fulbright Research Purpose: In Berlin, Fitzgerald will pursue the project 鈥淎ncestral Body,鈥� a multidisciplinary performance exploring her physical and intellectual relationship to ancestral indigenous knowledge from Africa. Her research methods will include choreographic, ethnographic, and archival research. The project is through the Inter-University Centre for Dance Berlin, jointly administered by the Berlin University of the Arts and the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Germany: Participate in community spaces with grassroots organizations like Berlin-based GLADT, and partner with local collaborators to share about and teach community dance classes focused on Africa and African diaspora art and culture.
Plans After Fulbright: Work in the area of African and African diaspora indigenous arts and culture, collaborating with artists in Germany, Argentina, and Liberia.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee Said: 鈥淪he is already well equipped to make the most of her proposed project having spent eight years developing her solo practice, connecting with her Liberian heritage and asserting herself as an activist artist. Her interest in human interaction is infectious; she is capable, passionate, reliable, and ambitious in her goals.鈥�
More about Fitzgerald: Fitzgerald鈥檚 interest in studying in Germany reflects 鈥減ositive and negative facets of the country.鈥� Germany鈥檚 鈥渞ich artistic and cultural ecosystems鈥� intrigue her, the “vibrant array of public sector support of the arts, coupled with an International community of artists.鈥�
She鈥檚 also aware of the 鈥渓egacies of colonialism鈥� of Indigenous peoples from Africa and the Americas. 鈥淒ecolonialism is a pillar of my artistic research,鈥� she says, and 鈥淕ermany is an important imperial society to study. The Berlin Conference of 1884鈥�85, which furthered European colonization of Africa, 鈥渋s representative of Germany鈥檚 role as a protagonist in the colonization of Africa.鈥�
Jack Johnson 鈥�22
Name and Fulbright Award: Jack Johnson 鈥�22, an English Teaching Assistant Award for Czech Republic
乐播传媒 Major: Neuroscience
Relevant Experience: Intern focusing on youth mental health research with the Institute for the Study of Youth Resilience; English tutor at the Lewiston Public Library; science and math teaching assistant at the Lewiston Middle and High Schools; swimming instructor and member of the B1st2Swim lesson program at 乐播传媒.
乐播传媒 Activities: Men鈥檚 swimming and diving captain; AESOP Orientation trip leader.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Czech Republic: Johnson hopes to join a local swim team and help coach and teach swimming, as well as enjoy a variety of outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, and foraging for mushrooms, and possibly helping with youth outreach programs involving the outdoors.
Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a Ph.D. in educational neuroscience, continue tutoring and teaching, and conduct research in developmental psychology and neuroscience.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee said: 鈥淛ack is a responsible leader, with a confident and friendly personality, making him an ideal mentor. His enthusiasm and love for teaching shines through when he speaks about his work with youth. His patience, positive attitude, and reflective nature make Jack a pleasure to collaborate with and shows that he is always working to better himself and those around him. Jack is meant to be a teacher.
More About Johnson: Giving swim lessons as a teenager on Cape Cod was a humbling way for Johnson to learn how to teach. He found that his enthusiasm for swimming 鈥渄id not prepare me for the challenge of comforting a screaming 5 year old who refused to enter the pool for her lesson.鈥� Soon, Johnson learned to 鈥� acknowledge the many ways in which people acquire knowledge.鈥�
As a Lewiston Middle School math tutor, Johnson heard his students talking about fractions in Somali, the language of the country from which they had emigrated. So Johnson started writing down Somali words in a small notebook each day, and asked his students to define the word, which they excitedly did.
By semester鈥檚 end, Johnson had a long list of Somali vocabulary words. 鈥淓xchanges like these have demonstrated the endless amount of knowledge and skills that can be attained through interacting with others.鈥�
Megan Krieger 鈥�22
Name and Fulbright Award: Megan Krieger 鈥�22, an English Teaching Assistant Award for Germany
乐播传媒 Major: Political science
Relevant Experience: Teaching guide internship at Booktrails Camp, a literacy adventure camp; peer tutor for Mathematics & Statistics Workshop.
乐播传媒 Activities: Leading Women of Tomorrow treasurer, Every Voice Coalition steering committee
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Germany: Krieger hopes to focus on youth-centered activities, like tutoring or childcare, as well as find local sports clubs to participate in, and visit galleries and museums.
Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a career in education and, later on, education policy or nonprofit work.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee said: 鈥淎s a minor in education studies, Megan has a wealth of experience in various classrooms in the Lewiston public schools 鈥� hundreds of hours. She has worked with third graders as well as eighth graders, and even has experience with remote and hybrid classroom situations helping out a special education teacher for the middle school. She takes a learning approach to new cultures and perspectives; she listens and observes, then reacts. She teaches from the perspective of a partner, not an authority.鈥�
More About Krieger: During the pandemic, all of Megan鈥檚 tutoring for the Math & Stats Workshop took place over Zoom. She works with students in the course 鈥淪tatistics for Political Analysis,鈥� which includes the programming language R. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first introduction to computer science for a lot of politics majors.鈥�
Tutoring over Zoom, Krieger learned to 鈥渇ocus on clarity and creativity in communication. I learned how to slowly read aloud particular code areas, how to verbally point out an issue that would have been easy to spot visually, and I came up with solutions like copying and pasting small sections of code into the Zoom chat.鈥�
鈥淚 learned a lot about adaptability and communication, which will serve me well in teaching English in a classroom in Germany.鈥�
Talia Kurlansky 鈥�22
Name and Fulbright Award: Talia Kurlansky 鈥�22, an English Teaching Assistant Award for Taiwan
乐播传媒 Majors: Politics and Dance
Relevant Experience: Volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine; creator and teacher of a movement class for children for Lewiston Housing Authority, Mandarin tutor and dance teacher for middle school students in New York City.
乐播传媒 Activities: Co-executive director of 乐播传媒 Dance Marathon; Lewiston Democratic Party 乐播传媒 Voter Turnout program director; 乐播传媒 Dance Club co-president; Chinese Language and Culture Club.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Taiwan: Kurlansky hopes to find volunteer opportunities involving dance, as well as take dance classes to learn about Taiwanese dance culture. She also plans to offer English tutoring outside her ETA duties.
Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a master鈥檚 degree in international affairs, and work in conflict resolution and diplomacy.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee said: 鈥淭alia is a leader, organizer, and mentor. She is able to turn a group of people into a community, all speaking the same language: dance. For her, teaching is a way to give back to the community and create change in the world. She will be a dynamic presence in her new community.鈥�
More About Kurlansky: At the beginning of her volunteer work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine, Kurlansky figured she could use dance to foster a relationship with her 8-year-old 鈥渟ister.鈥� But the little girl would have none of it. 鈥淔or quite a while I could not break through to her.鈥�
Then one day, the girl asked Kurlansky about her home. 鈥淪o I gave her a virtual tour of the New York apartment where I grew up. She liked the city views and showed interest in the books in my home. Soon there was a barrage of questions.鈥� Their relationship blossomed. 鈥淚 learned that one secret to communicating is to show something of yourself.鈥�
Selam Murphy 鈥�22
Name and Fulbright Award: Selam Adere Murphy 鈥�22 of New York City, an English Teaching Assistant Award for Mauritius
乐播传媒 Major: Psychology
Relevant Experience: Tutored English language learners in New York City and at Lewiston High School.
乐播传媒 Activities: Peer educator with the Academic Resource Commons; community engagement leader for the Black Student Union; organizer of the workshop 鈥淐elebrating Our Wild Tongues: Language Diversity at 乐播传媒, in Lewiston, and Beyond鈥� during 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Day at 乐播传媒.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Mauritius: Murphy seeks to document the personal stories that students share, and collect local cultural proverbs to compare with American proverbs, and publish them through a local library.
Plans After Fulbright: Work in education and immigration policy, in an organization that advocates for immigrant rights and accessible education.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee Said: 鈥淪elam’s passion for teaching and working with ELL students is driven by her own growth as an ELL student and immigrant. She understands the challenges that come with learning a new language; she is adaptable, very intentional with her work, and great at connecting and communicating with her students.鈥�
More about Murphy: As an ELL tutor at Lewiston High School, Murphy saw how some students feared making mistakes in their work, so used her own story 鈥� being born and raised in Ethiopia and learning English as a second language 鈥� to encourage them.
鈥淚 shared with them how difficult it was for me to learn English and how many mistakes I still make,鈥� she recalls.
One day, she grabbed a marker and whiteboard, and gathered the students around her, taking on an assignment together. 鈥淚f they made a mistake, I would sound out the word until they grasped the spelling.鈥� It worked. 鈥淭hey participated more, helped one another, and seemed proud of their work. I recognized the students were not 鈥榝alling behind,鈥� but simply needed more guidance, encouragement, and support.鈥�
George Schouten 鈥�22
Name and Fulbright Award: George Schouten 鈥�22, an English Teaching Assistant Award for Uzbekistan
乐播传媒 Majors: Politics and Rhetoric
Relevant Experience: Teaching assistant at St. Anne鈥檚 School in Harlem in high school; Orientation trip leader at 乐播传媒.
乐播传媒 Activities: Rugby Football Club president; AESOP Orientation trip leader; WRBC radio host.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Uzbekistan: Schouten plans to spend lots of time playing chess, a popular game in Uzbekistan, while learning about Uzbek culture, and he hopes to find opportunities to play rugby, also popular in Uzbekistan.
Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a career in international affairs, specifically in conflict resolution, studying inter-state disputes, or international business.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee said: 鈥淕eorge is friendly and curious, and is a socially-aware listener in new environments. He adapts to new cultures well, and will be a good representative of the U.S. He spent a summer connecting with various foreign partners to increase international and intercultural exchange through commerce. He has a natural instinct for conversation, communication, and discourse and will partner well with teachers and professionals in Uzbekistan.
More About Schouten: 鈥淚’m lucky that two of my biggest interests, chess and rugby, are shared by the people of Uzbekistan,鈥� Schouten says. 鈥淚’ve found that it’s always easier to connect with people when you share a common love.鈥�
Schouten鈥檚 parents taught him chess 鈥渆ven before they taught me to ride a bicycle.鈥� Ever since, 鈥渢he exasperated sighs from contemplative players and clatter of taking pieces has made me feel at home.鈥�
Schouten is the president of the 乐播传媒 Rugby Football Club. Playing the sport has 鈥渃reated friendships with people of many backgrounds from all over the world.鈥� He鈥檇 like to play or volunteer for a Uzbekistan youth team, which would help him refine his language skills in a fast-paced setting, 鈥渨hile also helping me form bonds with teammates and opponents alike.鈥�
Alixandra Zabin 鈥�22
Name and Fulbright Award: Alixandra Zabin 鈥�22, an English Teaching Assistant Award for Colombia
乐播传媒 Major: Psychology
Relevant Experience: Partnership with elementary school to serve early literacy intervention; leadership of 乐播传媒鈥� outdoor Orientation program; Overland Summers Trip Leader; Himalayan Healthcare trek in Nepal
乐播传媒 Activities: AESOP Orientation program coordinator; Jewish Student Union president; Multifaith Chaplaincy fellow; 乐播传媒 Book Buddies Community Outreach Fellow; 乐播传媒 Outing Club biking director; 乐播传媒 B-Well Spinning Instructor; 乐播传媒 Run Club vice president.
Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Colombia: Zabin plans to find opportunities to be outdoors, interacting with locals and the area, as well as offering free bike repair services, and volunteering at a local library to help children connect with books.
Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a master鈥檚 degree in clinical mental health counseling, focusing on transpersonal wilderness therapy.
What the 乐播传媒 Fulbright Committee said: 鈥淎lix鈥檚 curiosity about the people around her is contagious, and she knows how to ask questions. She seeks feedback for her own personal and professional development on a regular basis, a skill that will be essential to the ETA role. She deeply cares about helping others feel comfortable in new environments.鈥�
More About Zabin: One winter at 乐播传媒, Zabin gave weekly snowshoeing lessons to a group of Lewiston Middle School girls.
Around 40 percent of Lewiston鈥檚 students are from immigrant families. Most of the Zabin鈥檚 students were the children of Somali Bantu immigrants who 鈥渉ad little experience in cold outdoor environments,鈥� Zabin explains. Some eagerly embraced the challenge, willing to risk stumbling over their oversized 鈥渟hoes.鈥� Others needed comforting and encouragement.
Zabin tried to connect with each student differently, 鈥渦sing jokes, games, and questions.鈥� By spring, the girls 鈥渨ere excellent snowshoers,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was empowering to watch the girls feel confident in the cold snowfields and learn how to find happiness in a new environment.鈥�
Henry Colt 鈥�19
