***UPDATE***
Melissa Germano was named a 2019-2020 Fulbright Scholar and was assigned to teach English to elementary students in Spain for nine months. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Fulbright was forced to send their scholars home in March, ending each student’s international assignment. However, Germano and the other students effected were given a chance to reapply for a 2020-2021 award. The application process required new essay submissions as well as a whole new round of interviews.
Melissa reapplied and has just been named as a 2020-21 Fulbright Award winner. She will go to the La Rioja region of Spain in January of 2021 and serve for the Fulbright Commission as a Culture and Pedagogy Mentor working with the new students who have been named Fulbright ETAs to this region of Spain.
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Elizabethtown College senior Melissa Germano recently was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. Germano, a Spanish Education (Pre-K through 12) major, will use her teaching assistant grant and teach English to elementary students in Spain for nine months.
“Fulbright is one of the most competitive and prestigious scholarships in the United States and internationally,” said Germano. “To be bestowed such an honor demonstrates that hard work pays off, and that you really can achieve something if you put your mind to it.”
Germano of Columbus, New Jersey, is an Honors student at E-town and had previously studied abroad in Valladolid, Spain for a semester teaching English to third- and fifth-grade students.
“I am most excited to be returning to the classroom setting in which I feel most comfortable and enjoy,” said Germano. “I also look forward to meeting the locals, continuing to build my Spanish skills, and learning more about their rich and vibrant culture.”
Elizabethtown College professors provide guidance and mentorships to students to pursue prestigious scholarships and fellowships, like the Fulbright program. Scholarships and fellowships can range from short-term summer courses to multi-year graduate programs throughout the world.
The Fulbright Program is devoted to increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program. Fulbright alumni include 59 Nobel Laureates, 82 Pulitzer Prize winners, 72 MacArthur Fellows, 16 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients, and thousands of leaders across the private, public and non-profit sectors. Since its inception in 1946, more than 390,000 “Fulbrighters” have participated in the Program.