Hamilton is proud to recognize our seniors who have been awarded national fellowships and scholarships, many of which involve international travel. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which oversees the Fulbright program, has delayed the start of 2020-21 programs until after Jan. 1, 2021. This revised date assumes that travel warning levels will have been reduced by that time.
Inspired by her studying abroad experience in Asia last year, Eliza Renn ’20 is eager to return and learn about education reform in Taiwan. She’ll do that in 2021 as the recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.
“Taiwan is in the process of overhauling its education system to incorporate more creative and critical thinking skills, as opposed to rote memorization,” said Renn, who was intrigued by the country after spending time in India and Vietnam last year. “I felt that I could learn a lot about education reform by going there.”
In addition to studying abroad, Renn took part in Hamilton’s Archaeological Field School in Laurel Springs, N.C., and Slocan Valley, British Columbia, during the summer of 2019. The previous summer she was a teaching fellow with Breakthrough Collaborative/AmeriCorps in Austin, Texas.
Major: History
Hometown: Hamden, Conn.
High school: Hopkins School
At Hamilton, Renn has been a tutor for the Utica Academy of Sciences Middle School, a Project Shine and Independent ESOL tutor, a member of the Hamilton Habitat for Humanity executive board, and she took part in the Levitt Leadership Institute in 2018.
Renn said that although she is not completely sure of her future plans, they will likely involve education as a classroom teacher or in a policy-related position.
