For Fulbright awardees, a focus on teaching, cultural immersion

It all comes down to one very simple truth. Alexandra Pasqualone and Brittany Grasso want to be teachers. Remarkable teachers.

“Being awarded a Fulbright Program English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) will enable me to learn not only about Turkish culture, but also about what it takes to become a remarkable educator,” says Pasqualone, a 2014 Rowan University alumna who leaves in September for a nine-month ETA in Antayla, Turkey through the Fulbright Program.

Grasso, who graduated in May from Rowan and departs July 10 for a year-long Fulbright ETA in South Korea, puts in more succinctly…but no less passionately.

“This opportunity,” she says, “will shape me into the best teacher I can be.”

Neither Pasqualone nor Grasso traveled far to earn top-notch undergraduate educations at Rowan. Pasqualone lives in Washington Township. Grasso is from Glassboro.

But both say their Rowan educations in the College of Education and the College of Humanities & Social Sciences--coupled with their life experiences--helped them understand what types of teachers they want to be. Both believe teaching on an international level through the highly competitive Fulbright Program will refine their classroom skills, making them stronger communicators, motivators...and learners.

19 Rowan Fulbright awardees in 16 years

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Program provides opportunities for international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Applicants from the nation’s top institutions apply for grants, which are awarded based on applicants’ academic merit and leadership potential.

In the past 16 years, 19 Rowan students have landed Fulbright scholarships in countries such as Malaysia, Mongolia, Spain, Cypress, and South Africa, among many others.

Rowan's second Fulbright Summer Institute awardee

In addition to Pasqualone and Grasso, rising sophomore art and advertising major Alyssa van Doorn is spending four weeks at the Fulbright Summer Institute at Nottingham Trent University.

van Doorn is the second Fulbright Summer Institute awardee at Rowan in three years. The Fulbright Summer Institute is one of the most prestigious and selective summer scholarship programs in the world.

Heading to Turkey

Pasqualone, who graduated summa cum laude with degrees in history and secondary education, currently teaches history at Paulsboro High School, a position she took last fall. She waited to apply for a Fulbright until after she completed student teaching at Winslow Township High School. During her collegiate years, Pasqualone balanced numerous jobs, including waitressing, working in retail and serving as a restaurant hostess to pay her tuition.

Landing a Fulbright was an important goal, says Pasqualone, 23, who will teach English to college students at Akdeniz University in the west Mediterranean region of Turkey. Pasqualone’s keen interest in Middle Eastern Studies was developed in her Rowan classes with History Professor Corinne Blake, who also serves as the University’s Fulbright Program adviser.

“In teaching, you have to love what you’re teaching. Your students get excited when you’re excited,” says Pasqualone, who has her sights set on an eventual doctorate in Middle Eastern studies. She’s considering programs at Rutgers, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania.

“In Dr. Blake’s classes, I fell in love with Middle Eastern history. She’s a brilliant professor. I just fed off her enthusiasm.  She gave me the confidence I needed to pursue the Fulbright.”

Exploring art, history

In Turkey, Pasqualone, a former art major, hopes to establish an art club at Akdeniz. She anticipates taking students to historical sites in Turkey to create sketches, a move, she says, that will help them work on their English—and appreciate history.

“Creating an art club will allow me to better connect to my students, while introducing myself to the community at large,” she says. “I would like to showcase students’ work with an art show that would be open to the community.”

But first, Pasqualone must bid adieu, for the time being, to the Paulsboro students who have captured her heart and made her a stronger teacher, she says.

‘I worked every day—all day—to achieve this’

“I love my students and I’m trying to deal with the fact that I won’t be with them next year.

“But the Fulbright is an amazing opportunity. It’s important for them to see someone very close to their age successful in a career they love,” continues Pasqualone, who began her undergraduate career at Camden County College. “I tell them all the time, ‘If you go for something you love, you will get a job. You will be successful.’

“I worked every day--all day--to achieve this.”

Off to South Korea

Grasso, who graduated magna cum laude with degrees in elementary education and liberal studies (geography/chemistry/physics) entered Rowan as an engineering major, but realized a year in that it wasn’t for her.

“Almost no one does that. As a female engineer, I would have had guaranteed job security,” says Grasso, who earned four years of full tuition, room and board through the Glassboro High School Student Scholars Program (GHSSP), which provides scholarships to borough residents. She graduated third in her class at Glassboro High School.

Grasso’s interest in martial arts helped lead her into the teaching field. She studied Soo Bahk Do and Tang Soo for more than five years, earning the title of Cho Dean (first degree black belt) in both. She also taught martial arts, but had to give up the discipline after an ankle injury her freshman year at Rowan.

“The injury helped me realize that I always wanted to teach. I realized helping others could be achieved in a classroom as much as a dojo,” she says.

Interest in STEM

Her enthusiasm for Korean culture made the application for a Fulbright to South Korea a no-brainer, Grasso says.

“I discovered my love of teaching through the traditions of Korean martial arts, giving me a strong connection and respect for Korean culture,” says Grasso.

Grasso, who completed her student teaching at Holly Glen Elementary School in Monroe Township, wants to teach middle school and to use her talents to get her students—especially girls—interested in STEM (science/technology/engineering/math) fields.

Her ETA to South Korea will be extraordinary preparation, says Grasso, who is eyeing graduate work and either college teaching or school leadership in the more distant future. She will teach English at university in South Korea, though she doesn’t yet know the exact location. Grasso doesn’t speak Korean…yet.

“If I can succeed in teaching grammar to students in a language they don’t know, no classroom will scare me…and no parents will scare me,” laughs Grasso, who was a student in Rowan’s Thomas N. Bantivoglio Honors Concentration.

“Apparently, in the beginning, I’ll need to become the master of charades to communicate with my students. I’m Italian, so I already talk with my hands.”

Studying in Great Britain

Beginning July 6, van Doorn will immerse herself in English culture, art and architecture during the four-week Nottingham Trent University Fulbright Summer Institute.

It won’t be van Doorn’s first time in Europe, but it will be her first opportunity to continue her education beyond the Garden State.

“Studying abroad is something I’ve always wanted to do, ever since middle school, and this program really spoke to me,” says van Doorn, who carries a 3.9 grade point average in Rowan's College of Communication & Creative Arts. She's also enrolled in the Bantivoglio Honors Concentration.

Art and design

van Doorn's father was born and raised in the Netherlands and she’s been to that Western European nation to visit family. But securing a Fulbright experience was something she accomplished virtually on her own.

Acceptance to the all-expenses-paid program, which covers air fare, lodging, meals, tuition and a small stipend, required not only a strong GPA, but a well-rounded application, reference letters, and two essays, one of which had to detail why she sought a Fulbright experience.

“I became interested after getting an email from the Honors program, which encourages study abroad,” she says. “I thought the Nottingham Trent Summer Institute would be perfect for me because it’s oriented in art and design.”

Cultural immersion

Nottingham Trent University is roughly in the center of England, a two-hour train ride to London or Manchester and less than 40 minutes to Paris by air.

van Doorn, who loves fashion magazines, may seek a career in publications. But, for now, she's keeping all options open and focusing on her summer Fulbright experience.

“It’s meant to be an immersion in the English culture, an immersion in art, architecture and design,” she said. “They really want you to get an understanding of the local culture and I’m really looking forward to it.”

In 2013, Katelyn Sullivan, who graduated in May with degrees in history and philosophy and religion studies, was the University’s first-ever Fulbright Summer Institute awardee. She studied at the University of Exeter in Great Britain through the institute.