AZUSA, Calif. — Each year, Each year, thousands of students from across the U.S. apply for a Fulbright Scholarship to travel abroad and teach or conduct research in another country. However, only about 1,500 individuals receive this prestigious award, and this year that included recent Azusa Pacific University graduate Benjamin Berk.
Berk, an Azusa resident, graduated from APU in December 2010 with a B.A. in English and Psychology. He was also an Honors Scholar. Through his Fulbright scholarship, he will spend 10 months in Bulgaria teaching English to secondary school students at the Yordan Radichkov Foreign Language School in Vidin.
“I applied to this region because I have an interest in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which has a strong Bulgarian branch,” said Berk, “I hope to engage with the Church in Bulgaria and consider how religion and culture interact, especially comparing the Orthodox population to the American religious community.”
Along with 2011 Fulbright recipients Katherine Scroggs and Brian Kraft, Berk joins 15 APU alumni who have studied and taught with a Fulbright Grant in Turkey, Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Romania, Slovakia, and Tunisia. This valuable experience has a great impact on the participants.
“We are pleased to have two Fulbright recipients for this next academic year,” said Diane Guido, Ph.D., vice provost for undergraduate programs. “Katie and Benjamin represent a continued tradition of APU students who have been successful in this highly competitive national endeavor. Teaching abroad for a year through the Fulbright Program enables them to experience life in another country at a level that will deeply impact them and their students for many years to come. They are both superb examples of the combination of top-notch academics and meaningful service that is a hallmark of APU.”
The Fulbright Program is an international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” The Fulbright Program has provided almost 300,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
