Prestigious Fulbright Grant Awarded to Northwestern 2010 Grad
May 2010 grad, Rachel Grammer, travels to Turkey to teach English
August 27—Recent Northwestern graduate, Rachel Grammer ’10, was awarded an esteemed Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) Grant that will take her to Turkey on September 12 to teach English for nine months. The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the State Department and administered by the U.S. Institute of International Education. Participants selected include those with strong academic merit and leadership potential.
Grammer, of McHenry, Ill., graduated in May 2010 with a B.A. in English Writing. She is Northwestern College’s seventh Fulbright in the past seven years.
She studied abroad in Israel for three weeks during the summer after her sophomore year at Northwestern, which propelled her interest in applying for the Fulbright Grant.
“My experience in Israel was the primary reason I chose to apply for the ETA in Turkey.” said Grammer. “It gave me a different perspective on what the Middle East is like; it gave me a heart for the people in that area of the world.”
The ETA program places students in various schools or universities in a designated country and gives these students the opportunity to teach English through a variety of activities. During their Fulbright experience, ETA’s are integrated into the host community, giving them a greater perspective and knowledge of the country and increasing language skills.
“There is no way I can be completely prepared. I don’t have a specific education degree,” said Grammer. “However, a lot of my [Northwestern] classes will serve me well as I teach English—the language/linguistics courses will be beneficial.”
Though she doesn’t have a degree in education, Grammer sees this opportunity as one that will stretch her in her abilities and character and hopefully provide a few answers to guide her future.
“I’ve considered going back to school to get my masters degree in TESOL or linguistics,” she said. “I hope that this experience [in Turkey] will clarify some of my future as far as teaching and whether or not I want to work abroad, perhaps in missions or international communication.”
