Fulbright Scholars to teach in Germany, South Korea
April 4, 2005
Read about Wheaton's other recent scholarship winners here.
NORTON, Mass.--Karin Seeber '05 of Groton, Mass., a double major in English and German, and Henry Gerlits '05 of Franklin, Mass., a double major in philosophy and religion, will teach English in Germany and South Korea, respectively, next year as the recipients of Fulbright Scholarships.
The editor of the Wire--Wheaton's student newspaper--Seeber won one of the Padagogischer Austauschdienst Teaching Assistantships/Fulbright Grants. She hopes to share her interest in contemporary media and culture with German high school students to offer them ''a more personal view of our culture and its values.''
''Although English is becoming the common denominator for global communication, teaching the cultural component broadens learning experiences,'' Seeber said. When I studied abroad, the opportunity opened my eyes to a culture I had never fully understood. Not only will my presence in Germany change how my students think about Americans, but I would also gain more knowledge and experience from living and working abroad.''
Seeber has distinguished herself at Wheaton in several areas. She is a Dean's List student, a Community Scholar, a preceptor in the German Department and a member of the German and film clubs. She has been a writer, editor and photographer for the Wire for all four years and has written for her hometown newspaper and Wheaton's college magazine and Web site.
Gerlits, recipient of the J. Arthur Martin Prize in Religion and a Balfour and Presidential Scholar, plans to use his Fulbright experience to gain firsthand experience in Asian culture in preparation for a career as a professor of Asian religions. To that end, he will study Buddhism in addition to teaching English in South Korea.
''I would like to seek out practitioners of Buddhism to discuss their relationship with their environment,'' Gerlits said. ''I am interested in examining the link between religious worldviews and attitudes and environmental policies; I am fascinated with how religion shapes the world we see and thus our attitudes toward the earth.''
Last summer Gerlits won a Wheaton Fellowship to research nature-based religions in the United States, and his honors thesis examines the Buddhist doctrine of sunyata and Buddhist environmental policies.
Five other Wheaton students have won major scholarships so far this year. Senior Carolyn Wills of Salt Lake City earned a Rhodes Scholarship; seniors Liza Semler of Middlesex, Vt., and Tyler Matteson of Epsom, N.H., won Watson Fellowships; and juniors Alex Dewar of Portland, Ore., and Myles Matteson of Epsom, N.H., won Truman Scholarships. Two alumnae/i, Cathy Brown '97 and Fred Marcks '02 also won Rotary scholarships this year.
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