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Gabriela Martínez said she left Honduras to experience diverse world cultures within Carbondale city limits.
This opportunity was made possible after Martinez was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English as a second language in SIUC's linguistics department. Of the 51 Fulbright scholars from 27 different countries at the university this semester, 12 reside in the linguistics department, said Ratna Sinha, associate director of the graduate school.
It's a transition Krassimira Charkova knows well.
Charkova, a senior lecturer in the department, was one of the first Bulgarians to participate in the Fulbright program in 1992. She said she is one of many to benefit from the late Sen. J. William Fulbright's proposal in 1945.
"He had this vision that the best way to improve the world would be to have international education," Charkova said.
Many scholars said the road to SIUC was one of heavy competition.
Vien Cao, a scholar from Vietnam studying teaching English as a second language, said she is one of 20 students who received the scholarship in her country.
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Sinha is on the receiving end of the application process. She said scholars must go through an extensive application process that is highly selective.
Excellent grade point average, work experience, samples of writing, several interviews as well as an excellent personality are important factors in the application process, Charkova said.
The process has not daunted many from becoming scholars in the linguistics department. Their numbers have doubled from six scholars in the fall of 2007 to 12 scholars this semester.
Though international enrollment has been down across campus since Sept. 11, the linguistics department has been able to retain its international enrollment because of the Fulbright program, Charkova said. She said this is surprising because the department only has four faculty members and lacks the funding to properly advertise its services.
But where money is lacking, word of mouth has succeeded.
Tugiyanto, a scholar from Indonesia, said SIUC was his first choice when looking at the schools offered in the program.
"A good friend of mine studied here three or four years back; he told me a lot of good things about SIUC," he said. "I was admitted up north in Vermont, but I chose to come here because it has a very good linguistics program."
Martínez also chose SIUC over another school in Indiana. She said four of her colleagues received their doctoral degrees from SIUC and spoke highly of the teaching staff.
The scholars must do a pre-academic tour of a university before they are fully immersed into American academics for the Fulbright program.
Because of this, Tugiyanto and Martínez knew one another before ever setting foot on campus.
Tugiyanto was studying in Buffalo, N.Y., while a friend from his home country was studying in Boulder, Colo., alongside Martínez. Once the friend realized Tugiyanto and Martínez were both Fulbright scholars and going to be studying at the same school, they exchanged information and started to speak, Martínez said.
Since they came to campus their friendship has continued, but they have also gained more than a group of friends.
"Our professors have made this department home to us," Tugiyanto said.
Morgan Hottes can be reached at
536-3311 ext. 270 or mhottes@siu.edu.
