New College of Florida Has Impressive Eight Fulbright Scholars for 2011-2012

May 12, 2011  — New College of Florida has garnered eight Fulbright scholars for 2011-2012, bringing the College’s historical total to 65 Fulbright recipients. This year’s awards—all from the 2011 graduating class—reinforce the College’s consistent ranking as a top producer of Fulbright scholars, with one of the highest number of Fulbrights per capita among all colleges and universities. The small, liberal arts college of just over 800 students produced seven Fulbright scholars for 2010-2011 and eight scholars for 2009-2010. Click here for a list of past recipients.

Here is a look at this year’s Fulbright recipients:

Adam Bresnahan
(Satellite Beach, Fla.)
Fulbright to Germany
Adam Bresnahan’s Fulbright grant will take him to Germany as an English Teaching Assistant. For his New College capstone thesis project, Bresnahan translated the novel Barefoot February by Herta Müller, recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. Bresnahan will use American literature written in locales similar to those of his students in Germany to help them understand life situations similar to their own. After his year abroad, Bresnahan will continue studies in German language and literature, his concentration at New College, in order to teach at the undergraduate level.

Christina Chavez
(Pembroke Pines, Fla.)
Fulbright to Malaysia

Chavez discovered her love of teaching while on her city and high school swim team, helping her teammates perfect their stroke techniques. As a New College anthropology major, she participated in a three-day archaeological dig on the Manatee River in Southwest Florida and volunteered with the Family Heritage House Museum and the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society. Chavez plans to draw on that experience while in Malaysia to create a collaborative portfolio focusing on life stories told through personal objects. Upon her return to the states, she plans to attend graduate school for cultural anthropology focusing on visual anthropology or museum studies.

Maia de la Calle (Aventura, Fla.)
Fulbright to Mexico
Maia de la Calle will teach English in Mexico during her Fulbright year. During her studies at New College in sociology and Spanish language and culture, de la Calle has been a teaching assistant, holding review sessions, assessing individual student needs and hosting “Spanish conversation tables.” She plans to create interactive classes for her students in Mexico with a focus on creative writing and by using YouTube videos and online news stories to enhance listening and comprehension skills. When she returns from Mexico, de la Calle plans to teach English as a second language with a long-term goal of studying educational policy.

Katharine Dean (Washington, D.C.)
Fulbright to Namibia
Katharine Dean, a biology major at New College, will pioneer the first long-term research study of giraffe populations in Namibia during her Fulbright stay there. Her study will encompass giraffe conservation, including initial project design, targeted research and the drafting of a national conservation strategy for giraffe populations throughout Namibia. Dean plans to pursue graduate studies in wildlife biology and conservation that will prepare her for nonprofit work promoting research and conservation in Africa and worldwide.

Danielle Korngold (Davie, Fla.)
Fulbright to Russia
Danielle Korngold, a political science and economics major at New College, has been awarded a Fulbright to teach English in Russia. Korngold will employ an eclectic mix of American music, TV and film to teach students vocabulary, pronunciation and listening skills as well as familiarize them with regional differences in American culture, government and history. Upon her return to the states, Korngold plans to enroll in a graduate program in international relations with the hopes of working professionally at the State Department, United Nations or similar organization.

Jennifer Lieb (Tallahassee, Fla.)
Fulbright to Taiwan
In Taiwan, Jennifer Lieb will incorporate her experience in one-on-one tutoring, group practice sessions, traditional classroom instruction, peer-mediation and mentoring to help her students develop a strong command of the English language. Lieb, who studied political science as well as international and area studies at New College, hopes to volunteer in the local Taiwanese community to promote environmental clean-up initiatives and raise awareness on ways to protect marine resources. After completing her Fulbright year, Lieb will pursue an advanced degree in international relations with a focus on international education and cultural exchange.

Meagan Patrick
(Great River, N.Y.)
Fulbright to Turkey
Patrick, who majored in the natural sciences, was a teaching assistant for physics, calculus and astronomy courses at New College, and she tutored math at the local library. In high school, she taught robotics to elementary school students. Patrick’s fascination with Turkey resulted from a friendship with her Turkish roommate in 2009 during a National Science Foundation research grant in Naples, Italy. At the conclusion of her Fulbright year, Patrick will attend graduate school for environmental engineering in a program that emphasizes international development. She hopes to pursue a career dealing with water purification in developing countries.

Ryan Tisdale (Sarasota, Fla.)
Fulbright to Germany
Ryan Tisdale will utilize his knowledge as a biology and ecology major at New College of Florida to study sleep patterns in urban and rural populations of black birds with the aim of better understanding how ecological factors affect sleep. Tisdale will conduct the research project under the sponsorship of Dr. Niels Rattenborg at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany. Upon returning to the United States, Tisdale intends to enroll in a doctorate program in biology to continue research on sleep-related illnesses.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program has provided approximately 300,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

updated June 14, 2011

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