PLU Fulbright recipients ready to engage the world

Eric Buley will be teaching in Venezuela and Nicolette Paso will be conducting research in Germany. Both adventures are as U.S. Student Fulbright Fellows. (Photo by John Froschauer)

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright program was established in 1946 by the U.S. Congress to “enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.”

It is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide.

Eric Buley – English Teaching Assistant in Venezuela

Buley will be placed in either one of Venezuela’s universities or at a Binational Center (learning centers affiliated with the U.S. Embassy) as an English teaching assistant. There he will lead language learning classes, facilitate conversation groups and present lectures and discussions on U.S. culture and society.

“I decided to apply for an English teaching assistantship to learn more about teaching, to gain experience in the education field and to make a meaningful impact in the lives of students,” Buley said.

In his free time in Venezuela, he hopes to pursue work with a community-based organization that provides educational opportunities to low-income communities.

“Within my formal Fulbright assignment and in my volunteer pursuit I look forward to continuing to refine my leadership skills and to achieving ambitious and measurable results with students,” Buley said.

Nicolette Paso – Research in Germany

Paso will be moving to Leipzig, Germany to complete her Fulbright Research Grant. Her hope is to apply her research toward a master’s degree, and eventually doctorate, in religion.

Her research project is centered on the early Reformation church ordinances that created the first state-sponsored systems of social welfare.

“I am primarily interested in how theological context of each particular city influenced the social reform that it’s government enacted,” she said.

She’s excited to be in Germany again. A few years ago she studied abroad there and is looking forward to returning.

“As nerdy as it sounds, I am thrilled to be able to work in the city archives and libraries,” Paso said. “Research is something that I enjoy, particularly when it is connected to my passion for social justice and it is rare for an undergraduate to be able to travel to the original sources for this kind of project.”

Kelly Ryan – Research in Macedonia

Ryan will be working with the Nansen Dialogue Network in Skopje, Macedonia conducting research in grassroots reconciliation in Macedonia. It’s in connection with his political science capstone project.

“I hope to research what makes their reconciliation practices successful and trying to understand how their techniques and findings can impact the rest of the world,” Ryan said.

“I am most excited to work with world leaders in peace building, and gaining a better understanding of how intractable conflicts can be resolved,” he said.

Faculty

Along with three PLU students receiving Fulbright Student Fellowships, three faculty members received Fulbright awards.

Joanne Lisosky, associate professor of communication, received a Fulbright Award beginning in January 2011 in Azerbaijan to teach journalism at Baku University.

Janet Weiss, assistant professor of instructional development and leadership, received a Fulbright-Hays Award to do curriculum work in Namibia during July.

Jennifer Jenkins, assistant professor of German, was selected to participate during the summer of 2010 in the Baden-Württemberg Seminar for American Faculty in German and German Studies, funded by the German American Fulbright Commission and the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of Baden- Württemberg.