ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University student Kris Imbrigotta and recent graduate Vince Baratta have won Fulbright grants to teach English in Germany for the 2003-2004 academic year.
Imbrigotta will graduate in June with bachelor's degrees in German and European studies. Baratta graduated in November with bachelor's degrees in German and German education. "As much as I look forward to learning about the vast intricacies of the German culture, I have always had a passion for teaching. I will use the opportunity not only to help German students with their language skills, but also to rectify any misinformation they may have about our culture," Baratta said.
Annette Steigerwald, a visiting professor of German, has provided language instruction to both Fulbright winners and praised their German skills. "Both these young men will make fine ambassadors for Ohio University, Ohio and the United States while in Germany. Their open-mindedness and cultural sensitivity will contribute to the friendship and mutual understanding that has existed between our two nations. I am very proud of Vince and Kris, I know they have what it takes to be successful," Steigerwald said.
Baratta, the child of Italian immigrants, grew up in a bilingual household in Pittsburgh, Pa. He has wanted to be a high school German teacher since he first began to learn the language in high school. He continued on that path through college, where he participated in weekly German conversation evenings, tutored students in German and taught elementary school children German through the Foreign Language Exploratory (FLEX) program. Baratta is currently student teaching German at a high school outside Pittsburgh. He looks forward to enriching his teaching with the tools and experiences he will bring back from Germany.
Imbrigotta, a native of Lakewood, Ohio, said he has wanted to learn German since his mother taught him to count in German at a young age. At Ohio University, he has served as a conversation partner in the Ohio Program of Intensive English (OPIE) and as a German language tutor. After completing his year as a Fulbright teaching assistant, Imbrigotta plans to pursue a graduate degree in German, enabling him to teach German literature and linguistics at the university level. Imbrigotta spent a quarter studying in Salzburg, Austria last year and has interned in with an environmental organization in Steiningen, Germany.
Assistant director of the Center for International Studies and Ohio University's U.S. Fulbright Program advisor Beth Clodfelter said, "Such success at the national level highlights the excellence of the Department of Modern Languages and the German language faculty. For a department to have one student receive a Fulbright is outstanding, two is simply tremendous."
This year seven Ohio University students were recommended to the final round of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. This is the highest number of recommended students that Ohio University has had in this prestigious national competition in the last ten years. These students represent programs in three colleges, as well as the Center for International Studies.
The remaining candidates will find out in the next few months if they will receive a Fulbright award. Those who do will spend the 2003-2004 academic year working abroad on projects funded by the Fulbright program.
Visit Ohio University's Fulbright Web page at www.ohiou.edu/internationalstudies/fulbright/fulbright.htm
