This year, Portland State has eight scholarship winners who have gone beyond borderlines and have overcome language barriers by traveling to foreign countries in order to conduct research and gain teaching skills as well as invaluable life experience. Three of these students will be graduating this spring and will begin their post-college life in international locations.
Andrea Gorman is a social science major who also minored in international studies. Going to Serbia as an English Teaching Assistant, Gorman will not only be teaching English through the Fulbright program but also be working on a photography and storytelling project during her session. In 2011, she co-founded the Freshman Inquiry Legacy Garden, a program that she said “promotes undergraduate leadership through food, art and sustainability.” Gorman previously studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain, and taught English in South Korea. When she returns from Serbia, Gorman wishes to continue working in the education field.
Also graduating this term is Spanish language major Rebecca Haley. She will head off to Madrid, Spain, in September, where she will remain until June of next year. She plans on working as a Fulbright English teaching assistant at a bilingual high school. There, she plans on organizing a monthly pen-pal exchange program with Portland students and lead a model United Nations club. Outside of her work at the school, Haley intends to volunteer at a medical clinic to put her nursing assistant experience to good use. When she returns to Portland next year, Haley plans to attend the PSU Master of Arts and Teaching program in order to become a second language and Spanish teacher at a middle or high school level.
Double-majoring in International Studies and Russian, senior Inna Makheddinova will be completing her nearly three-year study with the Russian Flagship program in St. Petersburg, Russia. She participated in the Engalitcheff Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and studied abroad in Paris, France. Makheddinova has also participated in internships with Conservation International and the World Affairs Council of Oregon and has volunteered for LEAD International. Additionally, she accompanied a group of PSU jazz musicians to Khabarovsk, Russia, through a cultural exchange project supported by the Portland-Khabarovsk Sister City Association. After graduation, she will continue her education at the graduate level and pursue a career within the U.S. Department of State.
PSU students are able to apply for various scholarships that promote overseas study sessions, such as the Fulbright Scholarship, which is overseen by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. The council promotes overseas research and teaching opportunities for American faculty. The duration of time that can be spent overseas varies between a single term up to an entire year.
According to PSU Fulbright Advisor Debra Clemans, the Boren scholarship program sends students overseas to learn languages and is available to both undergraduate and graduate students. “It’s particularly well-suited to students who want to work for the federal government after they finish their education,” Clemans said.
Scholarship winners can conduct research, create projects, teach English or take part in a combination of these projects. Foreign governments that support these programs and host institutions also help participants financially by waving tuition, providing university housing and supplying other benefits. Depending on the scholarship and program, participants may study and teach in locations all over the world. Candidates that stand out amongst the rest of applicants are noted for their innovative ideas, leadership skills, a high maturity level, an open view of the world, an optimism of exploring foreign countries and a strong academic record.
Students interested in Fulbright scholarships are asked to visit the Office of International Affairs website at oia.pdx.edu or to contact Clemans at clemans@pdx.edu for information about early fall deadlines. ■