ITHACA, NY—For the first time ever, three students from Ithaca College have earned Fulbright Awards in a single year. Graduating seniors Kelly Helin, Sarah Kessler and Betsabe Luna will all be spending the year abroad as Fulbright scholars for 2007–8.

 

Kelly Helin will travel to Bulgaria to teach and to conduct research in high schools and orphanages. She plans to use tales and games in the teaching of the English language and American culture in the Bulgarian educational system. She has been a teaching assistant in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and is graduating with a double major in Spanish and English.

 

Sarah Kessler will be researching political philosophy in South Korea, with an affiliation with the National Human Rights Commission. She is hoping to address the status of migrant workers and their families, who under current Korean laws cannot become full citizens or gain full access to public services. A Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar, Kessler has served as an executive board member for Amnesty International and as a co-editor of the Ithaca College Journal of Race, Culture, Gender and Ethnicity. She is a double major in politics and music.

 

Betsabe Luna will be going to Spain to teach and to conduct research on teaching in Spanish high schools. She will also work with organizations in Madrid that deal with issues of domestic violence. When she returns to the U.S., she plans to use her experience for both teaching English to speakers of other languages and for working with nonprofit organizations involved with outreach and community development around the world. She is earning her degree in sociology.

 

In the last 16 years, 15 Ithaca College students have received Fulbright grants. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright program was established at the end of World War II to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries, through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills. In addition to the student program, Fulbright grants are awarded to faculty and professionals who wish to teach and do research abroad.