{"id":3555,"date":"2017-06-05T17:56:21","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T21:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/?page_id=3555"},"modified":"2017-06-05T17:56:21","modified_gmt":"2017-06-05T21:56:21","slug":"bright-minds","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-spring2017\/features\/bright-minds\/","title":{"rendered":"Bright Minds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exploring The Global Connection Between Study Away In Latin America And Fulbright Grants<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Andrew J. Concatelli<\/em><\/p>\n

What is it about participation in Trinity College\u2019s study-away program in Latin America that has led to 12 recent graduates receiving Fulbright grants in the last 10 years? While usually no more than 6 percent of Trinity students who study away do so in Latin America, that program has produced nearly 40 percent of the College\u2019s 31 Fulbright winners since 2007.<\/p>\n

\"BW_Map_2\"<\/a>Alumni, faculty, and staff have ideas about the correlation. They say the Latin America program \u2014 originally in Santiago, Chile, and now in Buenos Aires, Argentina \u2014 is designed in a way that encourages the development of a compassionate, global perspective and that the goals of the students who are attracted to Latin America naturally align with the mission of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The long list of its participants who have received one of the most selective and prestigious graduate fellowships to teach English or to conduct research around the world has become a point of pride for the relatively small study-away program. \u201cFulbright scholars are very rich evidence of the global commitment of our students and how the Buenos Aires study-away program is instrumental in fostering that commitment,\u201d says Assistant Professor of Language and Culture Studies Rosario Hubert.<\/p>\n

Trinity in Buenos Aires provides students at all levels of Spanish-language studies with strong academic, cultural, and co-curricular opportunities. All students take the Trinity core course, \u201cBuenos Aires: The Urban Experience, Human Rights, and Cultural Production,\u201d taught by Trinity Faculty-in-Residence Maria Silvina Persino; complete an academic internship or community-based volunteer project; live in a homestay with a family; and directly enroll in remaining courses at Argentine universities. While the program once had a focus on language immersion, a new beginner track taught in English increases access to more students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe usually have about 10 to 20 students study in Buenos Aires out of the 350 or so total who study away each year,\u201d says Zachary Macinnes, study away outreach coordinator and adviser for Trinity in Buenos Aires. \u201cThe students who go to Latin America are looking for something a little more challenging, and they get a lot out of it. They may feel more comfortable about applying for a Fulbright to go to Mongolia for a year, for example, because they\u2019ve done this program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Katherine<\/a>
Katherine Gagen \u201916<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dean of Academic Affairs and Charles A. Dana Research Professor of Language and Culture Studies Anne Lambright, who was an adviser for students in the Santiago program and is now a faculty sponsor for the Buenos Aires program along with Hubert and Associate Professor of Educational Studies Andrea Dyrness, says she thinks that there \u201cmay be something intrinsic to the type of student who would choose to study\u201d in Latin America. \u201cThe students may tend to be more intellectually curious or more open to different experiences, which I think are characteristics the Fulbright commissions look for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Buenos Aires study-away program has a focus on human rights, and students are required to complete a one-credit internship that deeply involves them in the local community. \u201cThey work with human rights organizations and women\u2019s rights organizations, or in disadvantaged communities, or with people with special needs,\u201d Lambright says. \u201cThese experiences give the students an idea of the problems in the world and ways in which people are working to solve them. That gives them the curiosity to apply for a Fulbright grant, and it gives them a profile that is attractive to Fulbright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many Trinity students who have gone on to receive Fulbright grants completed their time studying in Latin America with the desire to return to continue helping the communities they had come to know and love. \u201cThey have transformative experiences that make them want to go back,\u201d Lambright says. \u201cThe students are driven, but not in a selfish way. They have a clear commitment to social justice and social change and are very aware that they have privileged positions, even if they didn\u2019t come from privileged backgrounds. They translate that privilege to responsibility. Having an experience living and studying in Latin America really opens their eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Melody<\/a>
Melody Mendoza Lins \u201909<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Melody Mendoza Lins \u201909 had the opportunity to intern at the Institute of Women in Santiago. \u201cI participated in a joint effort to create workshops aimed at educating Peruvian immigrant women about sexual and reproductive health, domestic\u00a0violence, and their rights as workers,\u201d Lins says. \u201cIt was incredibly fulfilling for me to witness how my contribution to education allowed the women to recognize the independence they have over their bodies and the importance of voicing their concerns.\u201d Lins graduated from Rutgers Law School last year, recently passed the New York and New Jersey bar exams, and now works in the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court. \u201cMy experiences studying abroad definitely inspired and prepared me to embark on my Fulbright journey and have shaped my career and who I have become,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Jessica<\/a>
Jessica Cote ’12<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While most of Trinity\u2019s Fulbright recipients have received English Teaching Assistantship grants, Jessica Cote \u201912 won a research grant. \u201cIn Buenos Aires, I developed a solid sense of independence and self-confidence. These traits not only helped me to navigate the city and culture during my semester abroad but also later enabled me to design my Fulbright research project with only minimal guidance from mentors and then pitch my project idea to various research groups in Chile to obtain support from a host institution,\u201d Cote says. \u201cMy time in Trinity\u2019s study-away program helped me to identify my main personal motivator in scientific research: to contribute to the world\u2019s knowledge of health and disease.\u201d Her project investigated whether consumption of the Chilean maqui berry \u2014 a fruit used medicinally for generations by the native Mapuche people in Chile \u2014 could prevent or slow the onset of neurodegeneration. Cote is now a Ph.D. candidate in the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.<\/p>\n

A demonstrated interest in a different culture and a passion for helping others are certainly among the qualities that are assessed in every Fulbright applicant, says Trinity Director of Fellowships Anne Lundberg, who helps students connect with graduate fellowship opportunities. \u201cFulbright evaluates applicants on characteristics including maturity, motivation, and personal stability,\u201d Lundberg says. In addition to possessing strong communication skills in English and the proper language qualifications for the destination country, applicants must provide evidence of their ability to adapt well to another culture. \u201cThose who have studied abroad have shown that through the successful completion of their program,\u201d Lundberg says.<\/p>\n

\"Jeannie<\/a>
Jeannie Guzman \u201910<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The application process involves a project proposal and personal statement that explain \u201cwhat you are planning to do and what motivates you to do it,\u201d Lundberg says, as well as three letters of recommendation. Another consideration is the impression the candidate will make abroad as a citizen representing the United States. \u201cFulbright grantees are considered by the U.S. government to be \u2018cultural ambassadors\u2019 for the United States, so you\u2019re trying to make an argument for yourself about how you would represent the best of American culture and American values,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Lundberg believes that the large number of Fulbright grantees coming from the Latin America study-away programs casts a positive light not only on the individual students and the specific programs but also on Trinity as a whole. \u201cFulbright has developed a reputation and a prestige that reflects well on the kind of teaching that we\u2019re doing and the opportunities that Trinity students have,\u201d she says. \u201cThe faculty, staff, and administrators are very supportive and invested in helping students succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 12 Trinity Fulbright recipients who previously studied away in Latin America, 10 are women. Five are pictured here; Danielle Padula \u201912, Jeannie Guzman \u201910, Katherine Gagen \u201916, Melody Mendoza Lins \u201909, and Jessica Cote \u201912.<\/p>\n

\"Chart<\/a>In Their Own Words<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMy experience studying abroad influenced me to apply for a Fulbright because I understood the\u00a0tremendous value in being immersed in another country for an extended period of a time.\u00a0I had so many\u00a0enriching cross-cultural experiences during my semester abroad.\u00a0I saw Fulbright as an incredible opportunity to contribute\u00a0in\u00a0a meaningful way in a foreign country and to deepen my connection to Latin America.\u201d \u2014 Jacqueline Kahan \u201908<\/p>\n

\u201cStudying abroad in Chile, as well as visiting neighboring countries, shaped my desire to apply for a Fulbright grant. My experience living and studying in Santiago was so rich, transformative, and intellectually thrilling that I knew I had to find a way to go back to Latin America. I think that what made me a strong candidate for a Fulbright was that oft-cited element: passion. I am passionate about cultural studies, language studies, and intercultural exchanges.\u201d \u2014 Sophia Becker \u201909<\/p>\n

\u201cStudying in Latin America was an incredible journey of self-awareness. I learned the importance of cross-cultural learning to bridge our differences. During my time in Chile,\u00a0I volunteered with youth organizations and interviewed child-rights advocates who later inspired my second senior thesis. Both professional and academic experience, coupled with my story as a first-generation immigrant in New York City, solidified why I wanted to apply to Fulbright. I knew that education, and in this case learning English, can further open opportunities.\u201d \u2014 Jeannie Guzman \u201910<\/p>\n

\"Danielle<\/a>
Danielle Padula \u201912<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy experience studying abroad provided me the landscape conducive to personal growth. Overcoming the challenge and experiencing the reward of living outside my comfort zone gave me not only the confidence but also the thirst to seek new personal challenges. I saw the Fulbright scholarship as an extension of my time abroad in that sense. Trinity\u2019s study-away program opened my eyes to the various Latin American cultures existent in South America, and I became fascinated with the different cuisines each offers. My experience in Argentina certainly played a large role in choosing Panama as my Fulbright destination, as Panama is recognized as a \u201cmelting pot\u201d of Latin American cultures.\u201d \u2014 Danielle Padula \u201912<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that that I was completely immersed in Argentine culture had a large role in preparing me to apply for Fulbright.\u00a0I became comfortable with being uncomfortable: I lived with a host family that spoke a different first language than me, and I took classes in which I was the only foreigner. My experience abroad taught me how to transcend cultural barriers, which in turn fostered both personal and intellectual growth. The most eye-opening thing was breaking stereotypes that I didn\u2019t even know that I had, and in turn, surprising people who had preconceptions of what people from the United States were like as well.\u201d \u2014 Katherine Gagen \u201916<\/p>\n

\u201cStudying abroad makes you bolder and more open-minded and allows you to connect with people in ways you never thought before. It also brings attention to the intoxicating idea that people are so different and yet so similar at the same time, an idea that compels and even drives you toward learning more about various places and populations around the world. Trinity in Buenos Aires was one of the key players in inspiring me to pursue the Fulbright. I thought that studying abroad there would help me get rid of my travel bug, but, in actuality, it made it more infectious. It permanently instilled me with a need to seek out new things and to get to know more about the world.\u201d \u00a0\u2014 Alex Su\u00e1rez \u201916<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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