Honda Nuernberg, recipient of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award, poses for a portrait inside the Daily Iowan TV studio on Tuesday, June 20. Nuernberg drew parallels between her work and the work of Junot Diaz, a Dominican American writer whose multilingual background, Nuernberg draws inspiration from. She will be moving to Morocco to pursue a career in teaching university students the English language. (Ben Smith/The Daily Iowan)
By Brooklyn Draisey, The Daily Iowan
For students looking to go abroad, the top-producing University of Iowa Fulbright program is a good choice.
The UI has been named a top producer of Fulbright scholars for the third year in a row, jumping from 30th to 15th in the rankings. It tied with Columbia and Stanford, each having 16 recipients in the 2017-18 school year. Forty-one UI students.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program gives grants to recent graduates, master’s and doctoral candidates, and young professionals for research projects. The program has evolved quite a bit over the years, offering new programs such as teaching assistantships and expanding research opportunities in new countries.
Fulbright program adviser Karen Wachsmuth said she’s thrilled to see the university climb so high.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to go abroad and build on the knowledge that they’ve been gathering here at the university,” she said.
Two UI students participating in the new teaching-assistantship program, Samantha Westphal and Kate Will, are both going to Argentina to teach English in March, though they have different reasons for their country of choice.
Westphal, who has an interest in global health, said the international experience gained from this program and her previous study abroad in Chile will help her in her career.
“I wanted to get more global experience after I graduated from college, and I really believed in the message of Fulbright, which is promoting peace and exchanging cultures through education,” she said.