DePauw Senior Awarded Fulbright Grant; Will Teach and Study in South Korea
April 29, 2004
April 29, 2004, Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw University senior Duncan M. Yoon will spend a year in South Korea teaching and studying as a result of receiving an international graduate study and research grant through the 2004-2005 Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition. Fulbright student grants aim to increase mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchange while serving as a catalyst for long-term leadership development. The U.S. Student Program awards approximately 1,000 grants annually and currently operates in over 140 countries worldwide. Fulbright full grants generally provide funding for round-trip travel, maintenance for one academic year, health and accident insurance and full or partial tuition.
"I will be teaching English as a second language in Korean secondary schools as well as translating a volume of Korean poetry," Yoon says. "It is a wonderful honor to receive the award; it is the kind of thing that will impact the direction the rest of my life will take. The experience will be both an exhilaration and a challenge: an exhilaration in the sense that I will be immersing myself in a very different culture, hoping to learn as much from my students as I will be teaching them, and a challenge in the sense that any time you step out 
of your comfort zone you must question principles and ideologies that you have previously taken for granted. It will be difficult, but all the more rewarding because of that difficulty."
"Duncan will make a superb ambassador for the Fulbright Program, for United States, and for DePauw," says David Gellman, assistant professor of history at DePauw and the University's Fulbright Program Adviser. "An Honor Scholar and an aspiring poet, Duncan has distinguished himself intellectually at DePauw. His Fulbright application was very strong; he gave that application a lot of thought, conveying his deep personal committement to this endeavor. Teaching English in a Korean school will require him to draw on his considerable personal resources, including his experience as a writing tutor here at DePauw, as well as his off-campus experiences studying in France. Duncan embodies what is best about DePauw and liberal arts education. He has a clear sense of what he wants to do in his life -- study literature -- and how teaching in Korea fits 
with his many other interests, which range from Milton to baseball."
Duncan Yoon, an English (Writing) and French major who hails from Bolingbrook, Illinois, adds, "DePauw has been a wonderful resource that I have drawn upon these past four years. My education here has unearthed academic passions as well as provided me with horizon-widening opportunities. My professors, in particular, have been a great source of support with the whole process."
Dr. Gellman urges DePauw students and alumni who are interested in applying for 2005-06 Fulbright grants to begin the process soon. Applicants to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program must be American citizens at the time of application and hold a bachelor's degree or the equivalent by the beginning of the grant. In the creative and performing arts, four years of professional training and/or experience meets the basic eligibility requirement. 
(Non-arts applicants lacking a degree but with extensive professional study and/or experience in fields in which they wish to pursue a project may also be considered.) The Fulbright U.S. Student Program does not require applicants be currently enrolled in a college or university. Applications from young professionals interested in an international experience are encouraged.
"The Fulbright program offers recent college graduates an incredible array of foreign travel and study options," Professor Gellman says. "There are countries and programs compatible with a wide array of specific interests and talents. I hope that Duncan's successful application will inspire many other DePauw students to consider applying to this wonderful program."
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 255,000 participants worldwide with the opportunity to observe each others' political, economic and cultural institutions, exchange ideas and embark on joint ventures of importance to the general welfare 
of the world's inhabitants. In the past 58 years, 96,000 Americans have benefited from the Fulbright experience.
The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Financial support is provided by an annual appropriation from Congress to the Department of State and by participating governments and by host institutions in the United States and abroad. The presidentially appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board formulates policy guidelines and makes the final selection of all grantees. The Institute of International Education administers and coordinates the activities relevant to the U.S. Student Program, including an annual competition for the scholarships.
Learn more about the Fulbright Program by clicking here. Contact Professor Gellman via e-mail here.
Back