FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COLCHESTER, Vt. - Recent Saint Michael's graduate Emma Barnes, a member of the women's cross country and Nordic skiing teams as an undergraduate, is among four alumna who were recently awarded Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Scholarships, and one of three with ties to Purple Knight Athletics.
Through her scholarship, Barnes will teach English in Indonesia during the 2018-19 school year, departing in late July and returning home in late May. "I started looking at applying for the Fulbright last summer because I wasn't able to study abroad during college because of sports and classes," said Barnes, "so it seemed like a great way to have the experience of living in another country without having to sacrifice the other things that I cared about and liked doing while at Saint Mike's." Barnes said other ETAs perform research while abroad, but she will be placed in a classroom with Indonesian youths and their English teacher while sharing her experiences about life in the United States and serving as a native speaker assistant. Barnes isn't sure which age level she will work with as of yet.
Patricia Siplon, a Saint Michael's political science professor and the undergraduate fellowship coordinator for the past five years, said four Fulbrights represent "the most successful student Fulbright Scholarship year in the school's history." Emily Burns '15, a two-year Nordic skier at the College, has been performing international work in Latin America and will be an ETA in Brazil next year. After transferring to Saint Michael's as a sophomore, Emily Byrne '18 played two years of lacrosse while spending a semester studying abroad in Spain, where she will return next year as a Fulbright. Sophie Adams '18 rounds out the Fulbright ETA Scholarship quartet, heading to Malaysia.
Barnes served as a captain for her final two Nordic skiing seasons, landing on the United States Collegiate Ski Coaches Association (USCSCA) National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team twice. The mathematics and economics major and Dean's List student was among her team's top three finishers at all 47 career events, including topping the squad 28 times. In three years of cross country, Barnes earned a spot on Northeast-10 Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll five times due to academic success. She was on the Purple Knights' NE10 Championship squad twice.
Visit us.fulbrightonline.org for more about the Fulbright Scholarship program.
- Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staff at Saint Michael's
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