Two Whitworth Students Named Fulbright Scholarship Finalists
May 13, 2020
Two Whitworth University students, Victoria Robbins ’20 and Shasta Brooks ’20, have been selected as Fulbright scholarship finalists. They have been awarded the English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) Award.
Robbins is a Spanish language & literature major and will be going to La Rioja, Spain, to teach English in an elementary or high school classroom. She will also be volunteering at a library there to help people learn English.
“I am honored and quite genuinely shocked to have received this award,” Robbins says. “Teaching language abroad was once to me a distant dream – a frivolous, far-fetched fancy that I never expected to come true so soon! However, I couldn’t have done it without the help of several of the professors in the world languages department. They always believed in me when I needed it most, and for that I owe them a debt of gratitude.”
Brooks is a special education major. She planned to go to Argentina and fulfill a lifelong dream of teaching in a country she loves, but she turned down the award because of concerns about traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve admired the beauty and culture of Argentina for quite some time, and it is still somewhere I hope to go someday. It really is a place unlike any other in the world,” she says. “While I am unable to go at this time, I feel nothing but grateful to those who helped me along the way. I appreciate the opportunities that Whitworth has given me, and I appreciate the Fulbright Program for giving me a chance.”
“While at Whitworth, Victoria and Shasta have both dedicated themselves to language and culture studies, honing their academic skills while also preparing to learn well from others,” says Megan Hershey, Whitworth associate professor of political science and the university’s Fulbright advisor. She says Robbins will be an excellent representative of Whitworth and the U.S. abroad, as Brooks also would have been.
Whitworth was named this year as a top producer of Fulbright finalists among master’s-level universities nationwide.
The Fulbright Program is funded by an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, and is overseen by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in more than 160 countries and the United States also provide direct and indirect support. To learn more about the Fulbright Program, visit www.cies.org/program/fulbright-us-scholar-program.
About Whitworth University:
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of more than 3,000 students, offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Megan Hershey, associate professor of political science, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4951 or mhershey@whitworth.edu
Trisha Coder, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or tcoder@whitworth.edu
Robbins is a Spanish language & literature major and will be going to La Rioja, Spain, to teach English in an elementary or high school classroom. She will also be volunteering at a library there to help people learn English.
“I am honored and quite genuinely shocked to have received this award,” Robbins says. “Teaching language abroad was once to me a distant dream – a frivolous, far-fetched fancy that I never expected to come true so soon! However, I couldn’t have done it without the help of several of the professors in the world languages department. They always believed in me when I needed it most, and for that I owe them a debt of gratitude.”
Brooks is a special education major. She planned to go to Argentina and fulfill a lifelong dream of teaching in a country she loves, but she turned down the award because of concerns about traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While at Whitworth, Victoria and Shasta have both dedicated themselves to language and culture studies, honing their academic skills while also preparing to learn well from others,” says Megan Hershey, Whitworth associate professor of political science and the university’s Fulbright advisor. She says Robbins will be an excellent representative of Whitworth and the U.S. abroad, as Brooks also would have been.
Whitworth was named this year as a top producer of Fulbright finalists among master’s-level universities nationwide.
The Fulbright Program is funded by an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, and is overseen by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in more than 160 countries and the United States also provide direct and indirect support. To learn more about the Fulbright Program, visit www.cies.org/program/fulbright-us-scholar-program.
About Whitworth University:
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of more than 3,000 students, offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Megan Hershey, associate professor of political science, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4951 or mhershey@whitworth.edu
Trisha Coder, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or tcoder@whitworth.edu
