Erin Sullivan ’13 has been awarded a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship to Russia. A Russian studies major, she spent the spring 2012 semester studying at Bard-Smolny College in St. Petersburg, Russia. Sullivan is a Dean’s List student at Hamilton, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in February.
At Hamilton, Sullivan completed Methods of Teaching English to nonnative speakers, a tutor training course. The course involves 20 hours of field work in the adult education program at the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees in Utica, N.Y. and 10 hours of coursework. During three semesters as a volunteer ESOL tutor at the Refugee Center in Utica, NY, she taught adult refugees from countries including Burma, Bosnia and Ukraine at levels ranging from elementary to advanced levels.
Sullivan is a Writing Center tutor, a teaching assistant in the Russian Department, and was the recipient of a Levitt Center Public Service grant in 2012.
Prior to enrolling at Hamilton she spent a year as a Rotary Youth Exchange student in Slovakia.
Upon her return to the U.S, Sullivan will pursue a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. She plans to become an English teacher in an immigration assistance organization so that she can help immigrant youth prepare for the U.S. school system and assimilate to life in America.
Sullivan is the daughter of Barbara and John Sullivan of Cooperstown, N.Y., and a graduate of Cooperstown Central School.
The Fulbright ETA Program, an element of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, places U.S. students as English teaching assistants in schools or universities overseas, thus improving foreign students’ English language abilities and knowledge of the United States while increasing their own language skills and knowledge of the host country. ETAs may also pursue individual study/research plans in addition to their teaching responsibilities.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright program is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide.
