The Modern and Classical Languages Department is hosting three students who have received Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Awards. The three recipients are Juan Marquez-Olalla (Spain), Romina Carelli (Argentina) and Frank-Oliver Noah-Jong (France).
These students are serving as teaching assistants in their respective languages and are taking courses at St. Thomas for the 2016-17 academic year. While in the U.S., they will share their language and culture with the St. Thomas community and others to inspire Americans to travel and study overseas, as well as make U.S. citizens better prepared to engage with businesses, governments and organizations abroad.
They are among nearly 400 young educators from 50 countries who are traveling to the U.S. this year through the Fulbright FLTA Program to help internationalize U.S. colleges and universities, a key goal of many institutions as they prepare students for the 21st century workforce and globalized world. Recipients of Fulbright FLTA grants are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential.
The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments, universities, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the U.S. also provide support.
In addition to the FLTAs, the Modern and Classical Languages Department is hosting one student from the German Trier Exchange Program. Jessica Knuth is serving as a teaching assistant, and works closely with the German faculty to provide real-life experience of the language and culture to German classes. Part of her duties include sitting in on each German class once a week, providing tutoring and running the German club.
St. Thomas has been partnering with the University of Trier in Germany since 1975 for this exchange program. This partnership is the longest-standing exchange program for the University of Trier.
