Joining a Legacy Tieperman is the 15th Fulbright Scholar from Moravian College, with Fulbright accolades dating back to 1965 (see a full list of Greyhound Fulbright Scholars below). The Fulbright program is the U.S. Government’s premier scholarship program, placing American students in over 100 nations each year to study and conduct research for one academic year. The grant covers the students’ expenses while providing them with opportunities for personal and professional development. Rianne Stowell ’13, the most recent Fulbright from the College, spent the 2013-2014 academic year in Sevilla, Spain working at the town’s university as a research scholar. She was able to return to the Jose Luis Venera lab, where she conducted research during her study abroad semester, and deepened her connections to her research and the area. “The Fulbright program fosters a sense of independence and academic cultural understanding,” says Stowell, who is now a graduate student at the University of Rochester studying neuroscience. “I learned how to think on my feet and work independently in a lab environment and I use these skills every day in my current laboratory research.” Cynthia Dretel ’10 also went onto graduate school after spending her Fulbright year in Poland and is currently finishing her master’s in musicology from Indiana University Bloomington. Julie Anderson Shoults ’05 took her Fulbright journey to Germany in 2005, teaching English for grades 7–10 at the GeorgWeerth Oberschule in Berlin. Upon her return, Shoults continued her German studies, earning a master’s in German in 2009 from UConn, where she later received a graduate certificate in women’s studies. Just last month, she received her Ph.D. in German from the same institution and will be returning to the Lehigh Valley to begin her career as a German Instructor at Kutztown University.
“Building bridges across cultures is a major goal of the Fulbright program, and this is a lesson that I emphasize in all of my classrooms — increasing cultural awareness and understanding so that students develop as world citizens,” she says. Courtney Rice Schnyderite ’01 also taught English in Germany during her Fulbright exchange (she was in Großschönau). Now a German teacher at Northampton Area High School, Schnyderite honed her education skills will researching the Moravian educational system and her own Moravian roots. “Teaching in a German school for a year gave me an enormous amount of insight into the culture that I can incorporate daily into my lessons while teaching my students here,” she says. Jamie Thierolf Dease ’12 also pursued an education career after her Fulbright experience, and is now a fourth grade teacher in Virginia. “I was able to travel, teach and meet many other wonderful friends.”
FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS from Moravian College Robin Tieperman ’15 Rianne Stowell ’13 Jamie Thierolf Dease ’12 Cynthia Dretel ’10
Anne Dutlinger ’11, former associate professor of art Rebecca Brandt ’05 Julie Anderson Shoults ’05
Leigh Carusoa Gunther ’04 M. Leslie Smith ’02 Courtney Rice Schnyderite ’01 Daniel Byrne ’00
Marianne Zwicker ’99 Fred Rooney ’75 Patricia McAndrew ’68 Helen Bachonin ’65
LEFT: Rianne Stowell ’13 is all smiles during her stay in Sevilla, Spain. CENTER: Former Fulbright Julie Anderson Shoults ’05 (third from left) graduated from UConn with her Ph.D. in German this May. RIGHT: Jamie Thierolf Dease ’12 traveled to Croatia while fulfilling her Fulbright in Madrid, Spain.
SUMMER 2015
MORAVIAN COLLEGE MAGAZINE
11