Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship
One-year English teaching placement in Germany
German Studies; Political Science (honors)
Completed a JD at Northwestern School of Law; currently practicing law in Chicago.
During her time at Emory, Lucia volunteered with Emory READS, the Emory peer Review Board, and Pre-Major Advising Connections. She served as a Tour Guide and was active with Club Tennis, in addition to hosting a weekly program on WMRE. Lucia also received the Department of German Studies Prize for Language Acquisition, and was a member of the Delta Phi Alpha, Phi Sigma Iota, and Pi Sigma Alpha Honors Societies.
Read more about Lucia in the Emory Wire.
Q: What experiences at Emory prepared you for the Fulbright?
A: First and foremost, my courses in Emory’s Department of German Studies helped me acquire the necessary language skills to be a successful English teaching assistant and to integrate myself in my village’s tight knit community. At Emory, I worked as a German 100 Teaching Assistant for two semesters, which made me aware of the challenges I would face in a foreign language classroom. I think I was also especially comfortable in my new environment in Germany because I had studied abroad in Berlin through Emory’s Center for International Programs Abroad.
Q: What memorable or interesting things happened during your Fulbright experience?
A: One of the best experiences I had was the annual Fulbright conference, which was hosted in Berlin during my Fulbright year. The conference was particularly amazing because it provided the opportunity to meet Fulbright scholars from all over the world and be exposed to the interesting and important work they were doing.
Most of my memories from my Fulbright experience, outside of the classroom experiences, are from the time I spent traveling. My location in Germany and my schedule at the school made traveling easy. I made it a priority to see as much of Germany as I could, taking advantage of the cheap student deals on the train. I was also able to visit other countries, including Italy, France, Croatia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, England, Scotland, and Portugal. It was surprising and exhilarating to be able to travel to all of those places in such a short amount of time and with such ease.
My students’ expectations about me as an American were also surprising. The first day at my school I introduced myself in all the classrooms and opened the floor for questions. The first few questions were posed in this order: “Do you have a gun? Did you bring it with you? Do you eat at McDonald’s every day? What do you think of Obama?” I knew that as a Fulbright recipient I could answer the questions honestly, but also give answers that would be representative of the American perspective. I was surprised that the students were so eager and curious to learn— and hopefully let me debunk some of the myths—about American culture.
Q: How did the Fulbright impact your academic/career path?
A: After my Fulbright year, I was confident that I wanted to attend law school. The Fulbright grant made my application stronger, and also broadened my perspective. My Fulbright experiences help me think of issues on a global scale.
Q: what advice would you give current Fulbright applicants?
A: Working with NS&FP early instead of waiting until the deadline will make your application stronger and make your life a lot easier. If you leave plenty of time to write your essays and get multiple rounds of feedback you will be in good shape.