Deasia Hawkins ’18 has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Germany. She studied abroad in Germany during the 2016-17 academic year and says she “looks forward to returning and immersing myself once again in the culture and history Germany has to offer.”
A literature major and German and education studies minor at Hamilton, Hawkins is assistant director and program evaluator for Hamilton Reads, founder of student organization Our Voices, We Speak, and volunteered for Hamilton Autism Advocates for Neuro Diversity (HAAND).
She participated in the Levitt Leadership Institute and served as an English teaching assistant at the French School while studying in Germany. Hawkins also interned at Nottingham High School Summer Writing Institute, and the Young Author’s Academy, YMCA, both in Syracuse, N.Y.
Major: Literature
Hometown: Syracuse, N.Y.
High School: William Nottingham High School
In looking forward to her year in Germany, Hawkins said, “I hope to become 100 percent fluent in German, but my main goal is to examine aspects of the German educational system so I can incorporate them into my own pedagogy. Teaching in Germany should yield many opportunities for me to grow as a teacher and to foster a global consciousness.”
When she returns to the U.S. Hawkins plans to get her MAT (masters of teaching) in English and teacher certification. Then she plans to teach abroad again for a few years in various countries such as South Korea, New Zealand, and Taiwan.
The Fulbright ETA Program places U.S. students as English teaching assistants in schools or universities overseas, thus improving foreign students’ English language abilities and knowledge of the United States while increasing their own language skills and knowledge of the host country. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright is the largest U.S. international exchange program.
