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Four recent UNH graduates were named Fulbright recipients this spring, earning grants that will allow them to further their education in Scotland, Jordan, Germany, and Taiwan, respectively.

Jake Gehrung 鈥�20, Silas McIntire 鈥�23, Sydney Seaver 鈥�24 and Madison Smith 鈥�23 received the recognition. Additionally, Lina Adjout 鈥�21 was recognized as an alternate.

The Fulbright program is 鈥渢he 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,鈥� according to the program website. The Program operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

Gehrung, from Walpole, New Hampshire, received the Fulbright to pursue a MSc in sustainable engineering: renewable energy systems and the environment (RESE) at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland beginning in September. He graduated from UNH with a degree in environmental science 鈥� ecosystems and has been working as an energy engineer at Resilient Buildings Group for four years.

Gehrung has studied abroad multiple times and says he gained a 鈥渄eeper appreciation for global approaches to addressing challenges鈥� each time. He鈥檚 hoping to continue that trend in Scotland, where he says he will be able to learn from the unique renewable energy microgrids scattered across the country.

鈥淲ith a growing interest in sustainable energy system innovation, I knew I wanted to pursue my energy engineering degree in a country where I could study live examples of the latest solutions,鈥� Gehrung says. 鈥淭his grant is a critical step for me to become a professor in this field and continue fostering international collaboration on energy innovation.鈥�

He says the grant will help prepare him for his Ph.D. and later career pursuits in energy research by giving him the chance to explore topics in energy system engineering, hone his research skills and develop new relationships with academics.

McIntire, from Eliot, Maine, received the Fulbright to serve as an English teaching assistant in Jordan beginning in September. He graduated from UNH with a degree in linguistics and has been teaching as an English as a second language (ESL) teacher in Rochester, New Hampshire, for the past year. A first-generation college student, McIntire took a gap year before beginning college, during which he volunteered as a teacher in Tanzania.

鈥淔or me,听receiving听the听Fulbright听grant is honestly a bit surreal,鈥� McIntire says. 鈥淚'm a first-generation university graduate from a family with deep ties to the local blue collar community. My father spent his 42-year career听at the local grocery retail chain Market Basket, and we were both involved in a historic labor strike with the company in 2014. As a听Fulbright听grantee I'll have the opportunity听to engage in cultural exchange and citizen diplomacy, sharing that commitment听to worker solidarity and corporate transparency as a core tenet of my sense of American culture with young Jordanians really means the world.鈥�

While McIntire hasn鈥檛 yet received his specific placement, he will serve as an English teaching assistant at a charitable organization and school, working mostly with disenfranchised youth. He says he鈥檚 most excited about developing relationships with his students and the cultural exchange that will follow.

鈥淭he true value of the program is the first-hand experience. When I go on to work in international education policy, social justice and advocacy, or public affairs, I鈥檒l be able to remember my Jordanian students and remember to put the needs of people like them above any bureaucratic bottom line,鈥� McIntire says. 鈥淭hat humanization and understanding will be infinitely听more helpful to my professional听goals than any advanced degree.鈥�

Seaver, a Dover, New Hampshire native, received the Fulbright to serve as an English teaching assistant in Taiwan. She majored in linguistics at UNH and hopes to teach abroad for several years before returning to the U.S. for graduate study in linguistics.

Beginning in early August, Seaver and other Fulbright recipients will be taking part in an intensive training program designed to help the recipients find success during their placements, she says. She is looking forward to the opportunity to build on some of what she learned at UNH while taking Chinese classes along with linguistics courses.

鈥淚 found great interest in the process of the acquisition and learning of another language鈥檚 phonetics. I hope to use this experience to learn more about students鈥� English phonetic acquisition processes and the pedagogy and further develop future research on perception of phonetic sounds while learning, preferably while attaining a Master鈥檚 degree,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 am most excited for the opportunity to engage with and learn about a beautiful and rich culture and give back to their community through additional service work.鈥�

Seaver says the Fulbright experience will give her the opportunity to see firsthand the difficulties that students learning English face in environments in which English is not the most spoken language, which she can compare to those that students face in the U.S.

鈥淚 hope to use this experience to help frame my research in future years of study and help students of foreign languages find more confidence in speaking other languages,鈥� she says.

Smith, from Concord, New Hampshire, received the Fulbright to serve as an English Teaching Assistant at Gerhart Hauptmann Realschule in Hannover, Lower Saxony, which is located in the northwest region of Germany near the North Sea. Smith will be working with students ranging in age from 10 to 16 as well as with teachers at the school, though her primary role will be 鈥渢o act as an extra resource for students, since I am a native speaker of English, and to provide context for English language learning through the teaching of American culture.鈥�

鈥淚 am very excited to create classroom relationships with students and help them better understand the English language and American culture, while being mentored by an English teacher from Germany,鈥� Smith says.

Smith, a first-generation college student, majored in German and history while at UNH and plans to pursue a master鈥檚 in education following her Fulbright grant. Smith, who first began learning German in middle school and continued studying the language in high school, spent the summer of 2023 studying abroad in Berlin. She hopes to continue to become fluent in German and intends to pursue a career as a high school German as a foreign language teacher following her master鈥檚.

鈥淭his grant experience will help me start my professional career as a teacher of foreign languages, as well as strengthen and deepen my relationship with Germany and its culture and language,鈥� Smith says. 鈥淚 will be able to apply my studies of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) in a controlled setting which will help me gain confidence and strengthen my skills in the teacher role. I have always wanted to be a teacher, and I think this grant will be really beneficial in helping me gain experience inside a classroom prior to pursuing my masters degree.鈥�

Want to learn how to apply for fellowships and scholarships? Discover all the听opportunities available through the听Office of National Fellowships.