 Franciscan's Fulbrights Left to Right: Dr. David Schaefer, professor communication arts; Bernadette Recznik, most recent Fulbright recipient; Dr. Ed Kovach, professor of computer science; Dr. Robert Doyle, professor of history. Not pictured: Dr. R. Daniel Kempton, incoming vice president for academic affairs. |
STEUBENVILLE, OH—Thanks to hard work and the help of several professors, Franciscan University of Steubenville senior English major Bernadette Recznik will be off to Germany on a Fulbright grant this coming school year.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright program is the nation's largest international exchange fellowship program, providing approximately 1,500 study grants and English teaching assistantships each year. More than 8,000 applicants competed for these awards in 2010.
"Honestly, I've been waiting for so long, the fact that I fly to Cologne in September almost doesn't seem real," said Recznik, the first known Franciscan University student to win a Fulbright. "Although I'm sometimes anxious and sometimes really excited, I really believe this is what I'm meant to do."
Recznik, one of five siblings currently attending Franciscan University, grew up in Toronto, Ohio and was homeschooled until she entered Franciscan, where she majored in English with a minor in German. In Germany, Recznik will be a teaching assistant in an English or American studies classroom, continue her studies in German and "perhaps try to study another language as well, depending on how much free time I have."
There are about 140 schools participating in the Fulbright Teaching Assistantship Grant Program, co-sponsored in Germany by the Pädagogischer Austauschdienst. Though Recznik has not yet received her assignment, the Catholic Canisiusschule in Ahaus under the bishop of Muenster in Westphalia (a Catholic region in northern Germany) has requested she be placed with them.
The Canisiusschule—named after the great Counterreformer and German catechist St. Peter Canisius, SJ—"is not currently part of the Fulbright program," said Recznik, "so I do not know if this will work out. I could end up anywhere in Germany, but I have requested Bayern, if I am not placed in Ahaus."
She was inspired to apply for a Fulbright scholarship by Franciscan University professors Dr. Robert Doyle of the History Department and his wife, Beate Engel-Doyle, chair of the Modern Languages Department. "If it weren't for Dr. Doyle, I probably would have given up," Recznik said. "He was so encouraging."
Professor Engel-Doyle completed Recznik's German language evaluation and proofread many parts of her application that needed to be submitted in German.
"Of all the countries in Europe, Germany is the most Fulbright friendly and sponsors the greatest number of grants to Americans both at the faculty and student level," said Doyle, a Fulbright scholar himself.
Other Fulbright scholars at Franciscan University include Dr. Daniel Kempton, the new Franciscan University Vice President for Academic Affairs, who received two Fulbrights—one to Rhodes University in South Africa, the other to Tver State University, Russia; communication arts professor Dr. Dave Schaefer, who received a teaching and research grant for work in Singapore; computer science professor Dr. Ed Kovach, who worked in Budapest; and history professor Dr. Robert Doyle, who pursued research into U.S. treatment of POWs in Germany.
As for Recznik's long-term plans: "My dream is to teach English as a foreign language," she said. "After my time in Germany, I plan to pursue a degree in applied linguistics while also, hopefully, studying Russian. After that, I want to go back to Germany to study or teach English, or teach in Russia. This Fulbright is integral to my accomplishing these goals someday."
Since its establishment in 1946 by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, 111,000 Americans have studied, taught, or researched abroad. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.