CMU Fulbright nominees recommended to, Korea, Poland

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Two Central Michigan University students may have the opportunity to teach English overseas for a year as part of the prestigious Fulbright Program.

Stephanie Jaczkowski and Alex Strong, both seniors and members of the Honors Program, have been nominated by the National Scholarship Program to become members.

According to its website, the Fulbright Program is an international exchange funded by the federal government for American students to travel abroad and become ambassadors of United States culture by teaching, researching or studying. It also allows for international students to come to the U.S.

As part of the application process, Jaczkowski and Strong first had to be nominated by the university in a pre-application process. The nominees both said they were required to write essays about why they would be good cultural ambassadors, followed by an interview with a campus committee before they could secure the university’s nomination. Their applications were then forwarded to the Fulbright Program committee, which would then select a certain number of applicants and recommend them to the respective country.

Strong, an Ithaca native, is applying to travel to Korea. Jaczkowski, who is from Clinton Township, said she hopes to go to Poland.

The next step is for those countries to select their nominees. The Fulbright committee will recommend more nominees to a country than there are positions open, and the country will choose which nominees it wants.

Rediscovering heritage

Jaczkowski has more than a passing interest in Polish culture.

She studied abroad in Poland her sophomore year and grew up in a Polish community.

“I’ve been Polish dancing since I was 4 years old, and I went to the same church my great-grandparents went to when they moved here from Poland,” she said. “It’s always been a part of my life.”

When Jaczkowski first went to Poland, she said she did not know any Polish, but by the time she left she could hold a conversation.

“That’s one of my goals — I want to be fluent in Polish,” she said. “I want to get my Ph.D in political science and focus on eastern European politics.”

Jaczkowski said she would be placed in a university as a teaching assistant. There, she would teach students about slang, idioms, movies and other parts of American culture.

“I really want to teach them how to like football,” she said.

Jaczkowski and her father were the first in her family to return to Poland almost exactly 100 years after her great-grandparents came to the U.S. She said she hopes to write a paper comparing Polish traditions to American Polish traditions and how the American Polish traditions have evolved and been carried out in the U.S.

Jaczkowski said she is hopeful about her chances.

“Until I got the email last week saying I was in the next round, I was wondering if I was being a little too optimistic,” she said. “I wondered how I’d do in a national competition of scholars. I’ve worked really hard to get to where I am, and I think that really showed in my application. So I’m fairly hopeful I’ll be in Poland as of August or September.”

She said she could find out as late as June if she has been selected.

Borrowed traditions

Strong said he applied for the Fulbright almost on a whim.

“I kind of sent an email to Phame (Camarena, Honors Program director), asking what he thought about it — to see if that would be a good idea — something I’d even be qualified for, and he just happened to say, ‘Yeah, I just happen to have this National Scholarship Program we’re hoping to launch, why don’t you stop by my office tomorrow and we’ll chat about it,’ so I drove up to Central and printed out the Fulbright manual, which is about 150 pages, minimum,” he said.

Camarena, director of the Honors Program and National Scholarship Program, recommended Korea to Strong.

Strong said Korea was a good fit for him because of his love for jazz.

During the Korean War, Strong said, Korea was full of American soldiers. The military would book entertainment for the soldiers. Since the Korean War coincided with the height of the swing era, popular swing bands were sent to Korea to entertain the troops.

“And so they were there playing this music, and that cultural stamp rubbed off on South Korean culture, and that whole Pacific Rim region has got kind of American-o-mania going on,” he said. “To this day, there are a lot of people that like to listen to it there. My being into that, and my wanting to get a cultural varied experience, it seems like a natural fit for me.”

Strong said he has played the trombone in jazz ensembles every semester he has been at CMU except the current one, because he is student teaching in DeWitt.

Strong said he also chose Korea out of practicality.

“Korea has the most English teaching assistantships that are offered. Applying there gives me the greatest chance,” he said. “Everyone wants to go to Germany, Italy or France, but those countries have very few teaching assistantships available, because those places already have plenty of English speaking people, and those are highly competitive because everybody wants to go there.”

Like Jaczkowski, Strong said he was optimistic about getting selected.

“I don’t know what my chances are,” he said. “Each round I get through my chances get better. I’m not sure what the figures are, precisely; I’m just crossing my fingers.”