Olivia Muehlberger, a 2016 Rhodes alumna from Austin, TX, has been selected to receive a Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant for the 2017-2018 academic year. She will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Germany.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistant Programs, which place Fulbrighters in classrooms abroad.
Muehlberger, who has a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and German, applied for the Fulbright award through Rhodes. She currently is an AmeriCorps member with the Teton Science Schools in Wyoming, where she helps to teach visiting groups about nature and science. As part of the City of San Marcos (TX) Conservation Crew the summer of 2016, she interacted with different age groups while teaching the importance of preservation, conservation, and restoration of endangered species native to the area. While a student at Rhodes, Muehlberger had the opportunity to work for the Global Crop Diversity Trust in Bonn, Germany, where she learned about crop diversity and the role it plays in biodiversity and preserving the world’s seeds.
“I am very excited and eager for this new opportunity to engage further with the German culture, from a new perspective,” says Muehlberger. “Germany has a special place in my heart, and I look forward to living and working in a new region in Germany. “After completing this program, I hope to share my experience of teaching, community and culture whether my future endeavors be in the United States, Germany, another country or through graduate studies.”
Rhodes College has been recognized by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as a top producing institution for Fulbright U.S. Students for 2016-2017.
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