Linguists scholars Madison Muniz and Kristen Acker have earned Fulbright scholarships to serve as teaching assistants in Europe this fall helping students learn English. Muniz will be teaching in Greece, and Acker will be teaching in Germany.
“The Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship is an award that aims to improve relationships and cultural understanding with foreign countries. Essentially, Fulbright ETA award winners act as ambassadors,” says Acker, who will be teaching English to German students.
Muniz says her trip to Greece will only help her exceed in meeting her goals for the future.
“While in Greece, I will strive to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of Greece. After Greece and graduation, I plan to attend business school to obtain an M.B.A. I plan to put my knowledge to use by starting a non-profit focused on strengthening small businesses and community development both locally and internationally,” Muniz says.
Acker agrees that the Fulbright scholarship is the stepping stone to make her future goals possible.
“After my Fulbright experience, I plan to continue linguistics research on my own time while completing my M.A. in evangelization and catechetics. I am graduating in May with my B.A. in linguistics with a minor in German,” Acker says.
She also plans to volunteer locally in Germany to help improve her German speaking skills.
Acker and Muniz will spend an entire year in their teaching positions. The Fulbright Program awards approximately 8,000 grants annually. Roughly 1,600 U.S. students, 4,000 foreign students, 1,200 U.S. scholars and 900 visiting scholars receive awards, in addition to several hundred teachers and professionals.