Two more recent Trinity College graduates have each been awarded an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Katherine Gagen ’16 will soon start a year in Argentina assisting an English professor at a teacher’s college and completing an independent project, while Josh Frank ’16 has already begun his nearly yearlong stint teaching English to students in Malaysia. The two join Alex Suarez ’16, who started his ETA in Mongolia in summer 2016.
Originally from Newton, Massachusetts, Gagen, who leaves for Argentina in March, completed double majors in Hispanic studies and urban studies and spent three semesters in study-away programs: two in Buenos Aires and one in Shanghai. She said it was this time abroad, coupled with her experiences in Hispanic studies, that most inspired her to pursue a Fulbright.
Gagen said she is still considering her career options. Prior to being named a Fulbright recipient, she had planned to teach English in Colombia. She said that plan isn’t off the table for after her Fulbright year, but she is also considering graduate school programs related to urban sustainability and development. As an ETA, she said, “I would love to help create more opportunities for students to better their socioeconomic backgrounds, gain important life skills, and facilitate learning experiences.”
Frank came to Trinity through the Posse Foundation and majored in political science. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Frank is a first-generation college student. His family arrived in the United States in the 1990s from Guyana, a small country in the northern mainland of South America. Frank said he hopes to experience Malaysia’s rich culture, which he says is reminiscent of his parents’ homeland. According to Frank, both are places “where many races coexist with one another in a remarkable and unique ecosystem.”
After his return in November, Frank intends to apply to Schwarzman Scholars, a one-year master’s degree initiative in China, for which he was a semifinalist in the program’s inaugural year. He is also thinking about applying to the University of Virginia School of Law and Harvard Law School. “It will be difficult,” Frank said of his ambitions, “but this is certainly an affirmation that reaching for your dreams can yield amazing opportunities.”