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BY LINDA HOU

In print | Published April 29, 2010

Two students and three alumni were recently chosen as Fulbright Scholars. The grant funds students to teach, to attend graduate school or to perform independent research in one of over 155 partner nations, according to the grant’s website.

“The Fulbright is an international fellowship program. You have to have a desire to really immerse yourself in the culture of your host country,” said Melissa Mandos, fellowships and prizes advisor. “You need to be doing stuff in the communities, in the country.”

So far, the students and alumni from Swarthmore who have received the Fulbright Grant this year are Madeleine Abromowitz ’10, Roseanne Breakenridge ’09, Sung Uk Choi ’08, Gina Grubb ’10 and Jaselyn Justiniano ’07. According to Mandos, two more students have received Fulbright Grant offers, but one declined it and another is still debating whether to accept it.

In addition, Clara Badimon ’10 and Christine Stott ’10 each received a French Government English Teaching Assistantships through applying for the Fulbright Grant. Marina Tempelsman ’10 also received the assistantship, but applied separately.

One student is currently on the waiting list for the grant, and four students are still waiting to hear back. Mandos said they should receive the final notice in the next couple of months.

Madeleine Abromowitz ’10

Abromo-witz will study the alphorn in Switzerland. Abromowitz plans to study the production of the alphorn and compositions for the horn, with a focus on how the alphorn is used in modern music. According to Abromowitz, the alphorn is a uniquely Swiss instrument with several hundreds of years of history.

“The alphorn has no valves, so the notes you play are different from what you’re playing on the piano, so sometimes it sounds a bit out of tone,” Abromowitz said. “Even though this instrument is hundreds of years old, it’s actually suited for jazz because it has a weird intonation, which is also why it’s hard to incorporate this into orchestras and such.”

While Abromowitz is a robotics special major, she plays the trumpet and is a member of the Balkan Brass Band at Swarthmore.

Abromowitz first learned about the instrument while browsing on the Internet, and came in contact with various alphorn musicians through venues such as Facebook and YouTube.

Abromowitz will keep a blog of her experiences and plans to make podcasts on what she learns. She said that she wants to continue in the field of robotics in the future and plans to keep the alphorn in her life.

Roseanne Breakenridge ’09

Breaken-ridge will study biopurification in Poland.

“The project I’m pursuing is looking at purifying water using natural resources in a way where you don’t have any high tech equipment,” Breankenridge said in an e-mail.

An engineering major, Breakenridge studied abroad in Poland, where she first became interested in the subject.

“I was taking a class in sustainable development in Poland and I learned about the concept of constructed wetlands and by extension biofiltration. I saw that the system could really be helpful in places that have stressed water systems and I wanted to learn more about it,” Breakenridge said in an e-mail.

She then worked more on biofiltration for her engineering project. Breakenridge plans to purse a graduate degree in bioengineering in the future and is especially interested in environmental policies of developing nations.

“I hope to use my experience by pitching the use of this system to groups that I know it would probably benefit. I would also love the opportunity to work with groups/ organizations that are working with this technology on a relatively large scale,” Breakenridge said in an e-mail.

Sung Uk Choi ’08

Choi plans to research in-timacy and relationships in South Korea. His research project, ti-tled “Under-standing Korea, Intimately,” will be a continuation of his thesis research as a sociology/anthropology major and a psychology and Asian studies minor.

“I will be researching how different and competing conceptions of intimacy, including ‘traditional,’ ‘romantic,’, and ‘pure’ conceptions, have emerged over history, the personal and societal consequences of taking on each conception, and how people, especially young adults, navigate such complex and often bewildering landscapes,” Choi said in an e-mail.

Choi plans to continue this research in graduate school.

“Ultimately, I hope my work will help people better understand and navigate their social worlds as well as better direct public policy,” Choi said in an e-mail, “Naturally, I hope to end up with research that I can publish and build on in the future.”

Gina Grubb ’10

Grubb will be teaching English in either high school or middle school in Thailand.

“I don’t feel totally prepared yet, but I think the exciting thing is I’m enthusiastic. I think that prepares me as long as I have an open mind,” Grubb said.

An education and psychology double major, Grubb hopes to use her experience in Thailand to enhance her future in education.

“I know I want to continue with education, and I think getting a perspective of another country’s education will be really beneficial to me,” Grubb said.

Grubb said that she applied for the Thailand program because she wanted to work with younger kids, whose enthusiasm she enjoys. At Swarthmore, she said she teaches through working as a resident assistant and a coordinator for TOPSoccer.

“I really like the Fulbright,” Grubb said. “You are supposed to be an agent of cultural exchange. I will be learning as much about Thai culture and knowledge as they will about English [American] culture and knowledge.”

Jaselyn Justiniano ’07

Justiniano will teach English and science at a secondary school in Spain. A sociology/anthropology and education double major, Justiniano also plans to do research on science curricula in underserved communities across Europe.

“My ultimate goal is to teach and empower young people in underserved communities to become doctors and having them do well in the sciences,” Justiniano said.

Justiniano said that this desire comes from experience.

“I grew up in the Bronx. My bio teacher was a gym teacher,” Justiniano said. “Coming into Swarthmore, I and many other people were lacking in math and the sciences. It’s not just my specific school but across the board.”

Justiniano is currently studying for the MCAT and wants to go to medical school after spending a year in Spain.

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