Name: Brian Miner
Hometown: Davenport, IA
Type of Fulbright award: English Teaching Assistantship Award to Indonesia
Degree and field of study: BA history
Teaching: I will be teaching English in an Indonesian high school classroom for 20-25 hours a week. Outside of the classroom, I’ll be engaging with the community where I am placed. I plan to join or form a badminton club and/or cooking club at my host site. Badminton is very popular in Indonesia, and Indonesian food is delicious!
What drew you to this field of study?
I have been interested in the region’s history since grade school, and I have previous travel experience in the region. I backpacked from Malaysia to Vietnam after a semester abroad in Australia. Last summer, I was accepted into the USINDO Summer Studies Program which hosted ten Americans for a ten-week-long language immersion in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This experience and my time tutoring ESL students in the Iowa City community encouraged me to teach English abroad.
How do you envision this will change your life?
I will have a much deeper understanding of Indonesia’s culture, language, and so much more after living there for ten months. The independent professional opportunity afforded to me while on the Fulbright grant will be an invaluable experience in my progression towards future professional goals. I plan to continue research on Indonesian history in graduate school, with the goal of becoming a professor of Indonesian history or joining the United States Foreign Service.
What advice do you have for future students interested in pursuing a Fulbright award?
Be involved in the Iowa City community, travel, and interact with communities that are very different from your own, and reach out to people who have achieved what you are pursuing. Good grades help, too.
Are there any individuals you'd like to thank for their investment in this process?
Special thanks to Professor Michaela Hoenicke-Moore, Professor R. Tyler Priest, Ari Natarina, and Karen Wachsmuth. They were incredibly helpful throughout my application process by writing letters of recommendation, providing a language evaluation, and helping shape my application. I could not have been selected without their time and attention in this process.