A Pine View School graduate and recent NCF Fulbright recipient, Seth Borden, says that the biggest challenge of getting the Fulbright was the rigorous application process, which is typically done during one’s senior year while writing a large (often 80-page) senior thesis. “Not only was the application large and complicated, but New College’s internal process is very intense as well,” he admits. But it was helpful and necessary because the competition for the award is ferocious, and that means Borden had to write, then rewrite, then rewrite, then rewrite his application until it could wow people who’d never met him and had other appealing options to choose from. Next to being accepted to NCF, this award was the most significant broadening of Borden’s horizons he’s ever had. By working in Taiwan’s schools through the Fulbright’s English Teaching Assistantship, his Chinese has improved, and he’s learned about unique challenges that Taiwan’s education system faces. One challenge is the low birthrate, which shrinks the student population and strains resources. Another is the achievement gap between well-to-do families who can send their kids to “cram schools,” and those families that cannot. It’s no surprise that cram schools — a daily three-hour after-school educational boost — exacerbates the achievement gap that always exists between students from families of different socioeconomic status. “This can make planning classes very hard, as some fourth graders will be able to have basic conversations with you even as their peers are unable to write the alphabet,” says Borden. After his Fulbright is over, Borden is planning to do one of three things. “I will either apply to work in a government position through the Urban Fellows Program in NYC or the UN, will apply for a second year Teaching Assistantship through Fulbright that will land me in Taipei, or I will apply for a teaching or media job in Taipei independently of Fulbright. Getting this grant opened up all of these doors to me in a way that pretty much nothing else could.” Another recent NCF Fulbright recipient, Amelia Nordin, found that the biggest challenge in getting a Fulbright is making a plan for research you’re not going to be doing until years later. “Particularly at schools like New College,” she explains, “where your last year is spent dedicated to something as intense as our thesis project, imagining another, equally enormous project for the next year is daunting. I was really fortunate in that, at the time of my application, I’d become active at the Sarasota Opera and I’d realized how much I loved the work. Since opera was what I was studying for my thesis, I came up with a project that would let me keep doing that and one that was near a good theater so that I could continue preparing for a career in some aspect of opera production.” Being able to study at the University of Heidelberg has meant exposure to a whole different scene of musicological work than Nordin was used to, both at the university and at the theater. She has been able to explore a new profession and a different perspective on musical study. “I absolutely love my work here because it allows me to integrate my academic study of opera into practical application. As an intern dramaturge, I research the operas the theater is preparing and provide support to the artistic team, and I write and collect articles that ground the production in its historical and cultural surroundings. I had no idea going into my studies that the research and analysis skills that I used in my classes at New College would translate so well to exactly what I want to do.” Nordin is currently in the application process to stay in Germany for another year and finish a master’s degree at the University of Heidelberg. If everything works out with that, then she’ll also be staying on to continue her work at the theater. Other recent NCF Fulbright recipients have done equally impressive and interesting things: gone to Sweden to study resettled Iraqi refugees, traveled to Germany to study and participate in cancer research, and visited Namibia to study giraffe populations. As an institution with numerous awardees each year, it’s clear that NCF is developing and graduating compassionate, articulate, and intelligent leaders of the next generation. Spend five minutes talking to the likes of Nordin or Borden, and you’ll know what that means. For more information on New College of Florida, please visit www.ncf.edu or call 941.487.5000.
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scenesarasota.com