UC student Fulbright winners make positive global impact

English teaching Fulbright in Greece

While Mariah Cain is a native of Columbus, Ohio, she holds a passion for pushing past her comfort zone to change social injustice and unequal opportunity all over the globe. 

Being selected as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Greece will help her enhance educational opportunities for young minds abroad and prepare her for eventually mentoring disenfranchised youth in the ever-changing 21st century classroom.

As a UC spring graduate earning a bachelor’s degree in secondary English education from UC’s College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services, Cain plans to devote her Fulbright year to creating a meaningful cultural exchange as a young ambassador at the Hellenic-American Educational Foundation (HAEF) in Athens.

“The HAEF’s mission to cultivate mind, body and spirit for responsible citizenship, moral courage and intellectual discipline with a devotion to justice resonates with me for the primary reason I feel called to be an educator,” says Cain. “Teaching English in Greece will enable me to refine my educator’s skills while being immersed in the rich complexities of one of the most influential cultures in the world.”

Along with several departmental scholarships, academic honors and leadership positions in student organizations, Cain honed her penchant for serving others as an elected member of UC’s Racial Awareness Program where she challenged, debated and educated other students on issues of social position and social justice. 

In addition to working alongside respected faculty in Greece, Cain plans to volunteer for the 36th Athens Authentic Marathon in November, an annual event that has 43,000 runners, 80,000 spectators and 3,200 volunteers.

At the end of her Fulbright year, Cain will switch gears to serve as a summer camp counselor for a month. Before returning, she plans to experience as much Greek culture as she can while exploring the historical landmarks, museums, food, music and people. If she chooses, she has the option to stay for an extra year to help guide the next Fulbright awardees.

“Being a lifelong educator will help me contribute to society in a way that is meaningful to my heart,” says Cain. “My Fulbright experience will help me teach students to draw on the knowledge of the past in their attempt to weigh the questions of the present.”

Open-Study Language and Literature Research Fulbright in Germany

As a German studies doctoral student in UC’s McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, Katherine Paul is looking forward to spending six months in Germany conducting research on avant-garde, postdramatic theatre, in particular the works of American stage director Robert Wilson.  

As part of her dissertation and Fulbright open-study research award, Paul will look closely at Wilson’s production of “Faust I + II,” performed in 2015 at the Berliner Ensemble with music by Herbert Grönemeyer.

Described as unique, often avant-garde, Wilson’s artistic approach is commonly met with contrasting opinion.

“I am especially interested in the public’s reaction because he gets very mixed reviews from theatre and art critics,” says Paul. “Some consider his work genius and exciting while others report incredibly negative feedback. For this part of the research I am most interested in getting the viewer’s direct reaction right after the show.”

After interviewing a random sampling of people about their perception of Wilson’s productions and other similar plays, Paul will link the data to archival research from the Akademie der Künste and the Berliner Ensemble and will comb through contemporary German newspaper articles and other mentions about his work.

As a result of Paul's prior short teaching assignments in Germany and a study-abroad with the University of Bielefeld, her skilled German-language fluency will serve as a particularly valuable asset for both German and English while on her Fulbright.

“Because my experience at UC has been so valuable, I would like to create a similar experience in Berlin by founding an international Stammtisch, or regular’s table, where bilingual speakers from all around Berlin can connect with one another in an informal way,” says Paul. “I will invite university students, artists and community members who have an interest in using English language skills in a low-pressure social setting.”

When Paul returns she looks forward to a career in education at the tertiary level in both German and theatre studies, but maintains a strong desire to someday write music and theater critical reviews for publications such as Rolling Stone.

Along with her award for excellence in teaching and her Taft Research Center Dissertation Fellowship, Paul is grateful for UC’s graduate program and its research, financial and community support.

English Teaching Fulbright in Slovakia

While sitting on her Slovakian grandmother’s lap as a child, Grace Sprockett listened to stories about how her great-grandmother, as a young child, clung tightly to her tiny kroj Slovak doll while crossing the ocean to live in the U.S. 

Almost two decades later Sprockett will cross that same ocean and spend her Fulbright scholarship teaching English in her ancestral homeland of Slovakia.

“It was fate that I was chosen to go to my grandparents’ homeland,” says Sprockett. “I will be living and teaching in Modra near the Austrian border. In my spare time I plan to do volunteer work in the community, get to know the culture and learn more about my ancestral heritage up close.”

As a native of Ohio, Sprockett graduated UC this spring with double bachelor’s degrees in secondary education and history and looks forward to teaching English in Slovakia during her Fulbright 10 months abroad.

While there she plans to enhance her community engagement by producing a video documentary on the people of Slovakia’s own interpretation of their country and history.

“I will portray their perspective of their country’s history along with their personal history to not only provide data and evidence for historians, but to shed light on the real people of Slovakia,” adds Sprockett.

As a UC honor student earning several scholarships and academic honors, Sprockett has developed different pedagogical skills to address a variety of disabilities and learning styles. She plans to use this approach while in Slovakia to have an impact on the same unique learning styles there.

After her return, Sprockett plans to begin a career in high school education focusing on history and coaching softball, building student confidence through academics and athletics.

Sprockett’s long-term goals include working toward her doctoral degree in education, but not before shining a great light on the Fulbright program so other UC students see the advantages they have right at their fingertips.