Five Hamilton seniors, Elza Harb, Deasia Hawkins, Allison Zuckerman, Emma Morgan, and Rachel Alatalo, have recently been awarded the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, which allows for those on the grant to help teach English internationally. Additional students may receive Fulbright opportunities in the coming weeks, as notifications are staggered by country. The Fulbright Program is currently the largest U.S. exchange program, and funded by the U.S. Department of State.
Harb has previously worked with Project SHINE, a Hamilton College service program that helps teach English to immigrants and refugees in the Utica area. Already fluent in Arabic, and professionally proficient in Italian after having studied abroad at the Umbra Institute in Perugia, Harb hopes to add Greek as a fourth language.
“The Fulbright application process was very long, but luckily Ginny Dosch at the Fellowship Office was extremely helpful along the way,” said Harb. “She guided me through and I’m very grateful.”
Along with an extensive knowledge of language and other cultures, she interned for Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago, working with global affairs and partnership strategies. She was also a legislative intern at Congressman Mike Quigley’s Chicago office.
Harb has also been active within the Hamilton community, having previously taken on a leadership role with the Career Center and assisting with panels. She has also worked with alumni by bringing them to campus to discuss government and law careers. Harb has further involved herself on campus as an
Enquiry
politics staff writer, and both an Italian tutor and ESOL tutor.
“Hamilton taught me how to communicate effectively, which I think is such an important skill, especially in doing a Fulbright,” said Harb. After teaching in Cyprus, she hopes to continue being involved in international relations and diplomacy, applying skills from both Hamilton and her Fulbright experience.
Hawkins will be traveling to Germany to teach English and further her own skills in German. The experience will allow for her to incorporate the skills needed to teach in a foreign country into pursuing an English Masters and teaching certificate.
She has previously taught English at the French School in Germany, as well as interned at the Young Author’s Academy and Nottingham High School Summer Writing Institute in Syracuse. While at Hamilton, Hawkins has volunteered for Hamilton Autism Advocates for Neurodiversity, as well as founding Our Voices, We Speak. She is also the assistant director and program evaluator for Hamilton Reads, an outreach program dedicated to helping children learn how to read. After using the Fulbright to teach in Germany, Hawkins plans on continuing to teach internationally.
Zuckerman studied abroad in Munich last year, which convinced her to return to Germany to teach English.
“The Fulbright ETA represented the best opportunity to achieve that goal and I’m so proud and appreciative that I received the grant,” she said.
“I honestly spend so much time imagining potential lessons that I could do with my students, especially cultural lessons about American food and holidays.” She hopes to eventually get a Masters in Germany in either teaching English as a second language or intercultural communication.
Morgan is either heading to Germany with Fulbright or Austria with the US Teaching Assistantship program. She noted that “It’s really exciting to know that next year I get to be an English teaching assistant somewhere in the German speaking world! After I return, I’m planning on pursuing a career in International Education and eventually getting a Master’s degree.”
Alatalo plans to spend her time in Argentina teaching English to college students.
“I’m also looking forward to volunteering with an LGBTQ organization in my free time — Argentina has some of the most progressive human rights laws in the world, and it will be invaluable to see how those laws play out.”
Alatalo hopes to use this experience to further her creative writing career and look into opportunities as a literary translator.
