“Along with the six Fulbright winners who have already been notified, six applicants have been designated as alternates and may hear in the future that they’ve won a Fulbright, and six more applicants are still waiting to hear the status of their applications,” said College Fellowships Coordinator Denise Gagnon. “Amherst College had a large number of very strong applicants this year.”
Chen, who received funding to study chemistry in Germany next year, will work with Dr. Klaus Fender at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, one of Germany’s most prestigious academic institutions. Chen wishes to use this experience to not only research ion pumps, which are a key element of all living molecules, but also to learn some German.
Roza will live in Siena, Italy during her Fulbright year, working with the Siena School for Liberal Arts to create children’s books and educational materials that incorporate both signed and spoken languages. She said she hopes to establish a collaborative program for the long-term production of the materials, which she believes will improve the reading literacy and language development of deaf children.
“This project integrates my love of literature, sign language and education,” said Roza. “As I prepare for the project, I am astounded by how much I am learning in my conversations with deaf and hearing writers, artists and early education experts. Given my own personal struggle with communication, the possibility that I can contribute to a child’s linguistic development is deeply rewarding for me. My whole heart is in this project.”
She has already penned a book, “Lampino e Le Vipere” (“Lampino and the Vipers”), for deaf children and looks forward to building on that experience at the Siena School for Liberal Arts, where she studied abroad her junior year. There, Roza will continue to write texts for deaf children. To supplement her work at the Siena School, Roza plans to study Italian literature at the University of Siena. Roza plans to attend medical school upon her return to the U.S.
Haynes, Smith, Tsay and Weiss all received funding to instruct English as a second language. Haynes will teach English in Chile. A former editor-in-chief of the Indicator, Haynes emphasized journalism and communication in his proposal to the Fulbright committee. He wrote that Chile’s culture and society make it an ideal place to study journalism, and that he anticipates using his spare time to collaborate with local media or student publications. He also hopes to exercise his talents as a translator to serve “as educator, cross-cultural ambassador and communicator.”
Smith, a geology and religion double major, received a Fulbright to teach English in Indonesia. In addition to teaching approximately 20 hours a week, Smith hopes to learn more about energy industries in third world countries. In her application, Smith wrote, “I would like to investigate the effects of how citizens react to booming industry amidst such poverty. I would use my time in Indonesia to gain experience in initiating cross-cultural conversations, a tool that will prove to be invaluable for a profession in promoting a responsible global environment.” After her year in Indonesia, Smith plans to enroll in graduate school for geology.
Tsay plans to be a teaching assistant in one of the academic departments at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, though she doesn’t know, yet, in which department she will work. “The application process was slightly protracted and certainly not a one-person endeavor, but support came from many sources and in many forms,” said Tsay. “I had been planning on figuring out my future, etc., after turning in my thesis, so the notification (a few days after I finished) came at a fortuitous time.” According to her Fulbright application, Tsay hopes to broaden her linguistic knowledge while teaching in Hong Kong, learning Cantonese to compliment her Taiwanese and Mandarin. After her year in China, Tsay plans to pursue a doctoral degree in either English or comparative literature.
Finally, Weiss, the sixth Amherst recipient of a Fulbright, will teach English in Columbia. Weiss had hoped to work in Brazil, a country which inspired the subject of her senior thesis, the poet Elisabeth Bishop. In her application, Weiss said that she wants to use her spare time in South America to “continue my study and pursuit of poetry.” Following her year in Columbia, Weiss expects to enroll in a master’s or doctoral program for either poetry or literature. Whatever her situation, wrote Weiss, “I will continue to read and write poetry for the rest of my life.”
The experience to teach and research abroad is certainly a unique one, especially with the government footing the bill.
Junior Receives
Beinecke Scholarship
In addition to the six Fulbright winners, Calista McRae ’09 recently learned that she was one of 22 college students nationwide to receive the Beinecke Scholarship. The scholarship promotes graduate studies in the arts, humanities and social sciences. McRae, along with the other 21 scholars, will receive $4,000 immediately prior to entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 while attending graduate school. McRae said that her graduate plans are still uncertain, though she’ll probably take a year off and then seek a master’s degree in English literature with a focus on either Old/Middle English or more contemporary poetry/fiction.