Six St. Olaf students win Fulbrights
Six St. Olaf College students have been named Fulbright fellows for 2014–15.
Two of the students will use their Fulbright awards to conduct research — one on environmental policy and the other on orchestral conducting. The other four students will take on English teaching assistantships.
All but one of the St. Olaf Fulbright recipients are current seniors. The group brings the college’s Fulbright total to 99 since 1995.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is sponsored by the Department of State and awards more than 1,500 grants to U.S. students every year. The program operates in more than 140 countries, seeking to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries” and “contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.” Program participants are chosen based on many factors, including leadership potential and academic merit.
The St. Olaf Fulbright recipients and their projects:
Melanie Brooks ’11 will be studying wind orchestra conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, in Peter Ettrup Larsen’s Masters Program. She plans to visit five different youth and adult music schools across the country to interview teachers, work with students, and learn more about Finland’s music education system and wind band repertoire. She majored in instrumental music education at St. Olaf.
David Galick ’14 will work as an English Teaching Assistant in Kazakhstan. He is majoring in Russian, Russian area studies, and political science.
Sophia Kor ’14 will be working as an English Teaching Assistant in Kinmen, Taiwan, to help strengthen English language instruction for middle or elementary students. She hopes to start an after-school music program where students can experiment with different musical styles and materials. She is an Asian studies and music major with a concentration in China studies.
Shaina Rud ’14 will work as an English Teaching Assistant in South Korea, where she hopes to start or become involved in after-school athletic programs — specifically track and field. She is a psychology major.
Sonja Smerud ’14 will be at the Technical University of Munich in Germany, researching transnational cooperation related to the formation of environmental policy. She plans to focus her work on the formation of epistemic communities, and how Germany has integrated non-traditional political actors into the formation of environmental policy. She is a biology and political science major with a concentration in environmental studies.
Kia Vang ’14 will be an English Teaching Assistant in Thailand. She will be engaging in intensive Thai language studies, learning ESL teaching techniques, and studying cultural issues while teaching students ranging from primary school age to high schoolers. She is a political science and Asian studies major with concentrations in management studies and Japan studies.