Debbie Chen ’13, a candidate for May graduation from Hamilton, has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to Taiwan. She is a creative writing major at Hamilton.
Chen studied abroad in London in fall 2011 and interned in 2012 and 2011 at Hachette Book Group in New York City.
At Hamilton she is an Admission Office senior intern and has worked in the Opportunity Programs Academic Center. Chen teaches math to middle schoolers in Utica, N.Y., through the Young People’s Project, volunteers at the Johnson Park Center where she designs and leads arts & crafts activities for children, and is a study abroad mentor. She is currently taking a Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Teacher Training Seminar course where students receive a 70-hour teacher training certificate and do their field study at Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees.
She has received numerous academic awards and honors including the Barrett-Briggs Scholarship for academic excellence in 2012; the Prize for Excellence in Chinese Language and Literature, the William John Schickler III Prize Scholarship for academic excellence, and the Woman of Color Scholarship in 2011; and the Charles A. Dana Prize Scholarship for academic excellence and leadership, and the Kellogg Essay Prize in 2010.
Upon her return to the U.S, Chen plans to pursue an elementary education teaching certification and teach in one of New York City's inner-city elementary schools. She hopes to work specifically with immigrant children to help them learn English and adapt to American life.
The Fulbright ETA Program, an element of the Fulbright U.S. Student 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. ETAs may also pursue individual study/research plans in addition to their teaching responsibilities.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright program is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide.
