Amelia Giancarlo, a senior anthropology and sociology major from Lexington, KY, has been selected to receive a Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant for the 2019-2020 academic year. She will serve as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Vietnam.
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 English teaching assistantships as well as for individually designed study/research projects. Recipients are chosen for their academic merit and intellectual potential.
“It is because of the passion and the enthusiasm with which Dr. Shira Malkin conducts her classes and shares the French language that I had the drive and confidence to pursue a Fulbright grant. Not only has she pushed me to find my voice in my study of French, she has illuminated the importance of exploring the world with an open, critical, and decolonial mind,” says Giancarlo. “I am so excited to be an English Teaching Assistant in Vietnam, because it offers the opportunity for cultural exchange revolving around language instruction and cultural ambassadorship.”
During the 2017-2018 academic year, Giancarlo studied abroad through direct exchange at the Université de Poitiers with a focus on French letters and language and sociology. While in France, she also taught English as a foreign language to both high school and college students. She served as a literary coach for Memphis’ Refugee Empowerment Program last summer through the Rhodes Summer Service Fellowship.
Giancarlo currently is the peer tutor for the French department at Rhodes and a Rhodes Global Delegate, in addition to serving as the language center manager through the Rhodes Student Associate Program. She also is a member of the Rhodes Singers and Rhodes Chamber Singers choral ensembles, the Mortar Board and French honor societies, and Tri Delta sorority.
“Looking forward, I plan to pursue a career promoting international peace and diplomacy. I know that living in Vietnam—a country with such an intense, rich history—will offer me new and valuable insight into the crises the world is facing today, such as the worldwide refugee crisis,” says Giancarlo. “My hope is that upon my return to the U.S. I will be able to serve as an advocate for the people of Vietnam. This ties into my future plans to pursue a degree in foreign diplomacy or immigration law in the U.S.”
Giancarlo is a graduate of the School for the Creative and Performing Arts at Lafayette High School.
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