MURFREESBORO — As
MTSU Honors College officials learned 2015 graduate Dalton Lauderback had been
selected to receive a Fulbright Award, they also announced one of the top Fulbright
administrators would be coming to campus Thursday, April 28.
Dan Kramer, director of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program,
will fly from New York to meet with students and faculty starting at 1:30 p.m.
in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building for an information
session on how to be competitive in the Fulbright process.
The
Fulbright U.S. Student Program sends students, young professionals and artists
to teach and/or conduct research for up to a year in other countries.
Lauderback,
the 14th MTSU Fulbright recipient in the past seven years, will
serve as an English teaching assistant in Sachsen, Germany, during the 2016-17
school year. He is from Christiana, Tennessee, and now lives in Smyrna,
Tennessee.
To view a list of
past and present Fulbright recipients, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/honors/FULBRIGHT.php.
Having graduated
in 2015 with a double major in global studies and political science, along with
minors in psychology and German, Lauderback chose to apply for the Fulbright
teaching position in Germany for several reasons.
Not only did his
grandparents emigrate from the area in the 19th century, but he also
has a genuine interest in teaching and learning about other cultures, especially
foreign languages.
“For me, learning
a second language has, in a way, opened up the world,” Lauderback said. “While
serving as an English teaching assistant, I not only hope to connect personally
with the students, teachers and the local community, but I also want to help
others form international connections and have the kinds of global experiences
that knowing multiple languages allows.”
Lauderback has
spent the past few years as a volunteer for Catholic Charities of Tennessee,
where he taught English to refugees from Myanmar, Congo and Somalia. Once a
week, he visited refugees at their apartments in order to teach them the basics
of the English language and to help them transition into American culture.
In the spring
semester of 2014, he completed a study at the University of Zurich in
Switzerland. He describes his experience there as one that “really opened my
eyes to what the world has to offer.”
As a result, when
he returned to MTSU he decided to work as an International Student Exchange
Program Ambassador because he wanted to encourage his fellow students to pursue
similar study abroad opportunities.
After his time in
Germany, Lauderback hopes to serve in Southeast Asia with the Peace Corps and
to apply to Yale University’s Global Affairs master’s program. Eventually, he
hopes to work for the nonprofit company Mercy Corps. Ultimately, he would like
to work in developing regions on issues of conflict resolution and
sustainability.
Regardless of his
future career, however, Lauderback says that he “will always be a
globally-engaged citizen.” For him, the Fulbright is a great opportunity to
continue to pursue his passions in international relations, civic service and
intercultural communication.
The U.S.
Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs funds the
Fulbright fellowship, one of the world’s most prestigious educational exchange
programs. Recipients are chosen on the basis of academic or professional
achievement and demonstrated leadership potential.
Honors
College Dean John Vile credits Laura Clippard, Undergraduate Fellowships
coordinator, for her role in MTSU students obtaining Fulbright, Goldwater and
numerous other awards and fellowships in recent years.
No comments:
Post a Comment