校园动态 | 上纽大毕业生获富布赖特奖

9月26日，上海纽约大学2017届毕业生Hannah Johnstone，荣获2017-2018富布赖特美国学生奖。作为上纽大首位获此殊荣的学生，Johnstone将于明年1月前往马来西亚进行为期10个月的教学实践活动，致力于增进美国与马来西亚之间的相互了解。

作为富布赖特英语助教（ETA）项目的获奖者之一，Johnstone将与一位马来西亚同事一起，为当地高中生教授英语。

“我一直笃信，人需要跳出舒适区，结识不同人群，参与各种讨论，挑战对‘外国的’这一概念的各种误解。而‘外国的’这个词本身，就是有问题的，”Johnstone说。

富布赖特计划，是美国的一项著名国际教育交流项目。自1948年起，超过10万名学生获得奖学金，肩负起文化大使的重任。

Johnstone本科专业为世界史（综合人文），今年5月，她从上海纽约大学毕业，成为上纽大首届本科毕业生中的一员。她对全球教育与志愿服务充满热情，此前在纽约“大学睦邻之家”和牙买加蒙特哥湾“One Heart Source”志愿服务机构工作，为移民教授英语。

毕业后，Johnstone服务于非营利组织“Teach for America”，努力推动人们对美国教育制度和教育不平等现状的理解，同时也是一名纽约布鲁克林区的三年级老师。

与Hannah Johnstone对谈

2017-2018富布赖特美国学生奖公布后，我们采访了Johnstone，与她谈了获奖感受及近期打算。

问：获得富布赖特ETA项目奖学金，对你来说意味着什么？

答：能获得富布赖特奖学金，对我来说是一种莫大的荣誉。在上海纽约大学本科学习期间，我见证了跨文化学习的重要性，跨文化学习对树立人的基本信念、观念和视角发挥着积极的作用和巨大的影响。这个项目让我有机会用10个月的时间融入马来西亚当地社区，学习和了解这里的传统。我相信，这段经历将成为我今后从事全球教育工作不可或缺的重要部分。

问：为什么会想到申请该奖学金项目？

答：本来我申请了去蒙古的ETA项目，并被选为候补人员，但最终没有成功。所以，当时打算未来几年再重新申请。随后，我获得了去马来西亚参加ETA项目的机会。虽然这两个国家很不一样，但最吸引我的还是富布赖特计划本身的信条——“通过学生在教育、文化和科学领域的交流，促进国际间友好”。

问：在马来西亚的10个月，你想要做些什么？

答：在马来西亚，我会在当地一所学校教英语，也想参与一些课后项目和社区活动。马来西亚的每个城市都有独特的民族人口构成，所以，希望能在假期的时候游遍马来西亚，尽可能地感受那里的多元文化。

   NYU Shanghai Graduate 

    Earned Coveted Fulbright Scholarship    

NYU Shanghai graduate Hannah Johnstone ‘17 was recently bestowed the 2017-2018 Fulbright US Student Award on September 26. As the University’s first Fulbrighter, Johnstone will travel to Malaysia in January for a 10-month teaching assignment aiming to enhance mutual understanding between Americans and the people in Malaysia.

Johnstone was selected as one of the winners of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program. She will be teaching the English language to high schoolers together with a Malaysian colleague. The grant benefit will cover round-trip transportation to Malaysia, living expenses,  health care, and more.

“I have always believed in challenging the misconceptions and flawed ideas surrounding the idea of ‘foreign’, a problematic word in and of itself, by pushing myself to have uncomfortable experiences, form relationships and partake in discussions to better understand that which is not familiar to me,” Johnstone said.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program of the United States. Starting in 1948, more than 100,000 students have undertaken grants to serve as a cultural ambassador.

An Integrated Humanities major, Johnstone graduated as part of the inaugural class of NYU Shanghai in May. Following her passion for global education and volunteerism, Johnstone taught ESL through immigrant language services such as University Settlement Society in New York City and One Heart Source in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Since graduating, Johnstone has worked to build a better understanding of the American education system and educational inequality through Teach for America and served as a third-grade teacher in Brooklyn, New York.

An Interview with Hannah Johnstone

We spoke to Johnstone shortly after the announcement of 2017-2018 Fulbright US Student Award for her reaction to the wonderful news:

Q: What does the winning of this Fulbright ETA scholarship mean to you?

A: Winning this Fulbright scholarship is an incredible honor. In my time at NYU Shanghai, I have seen how valuable and impactful cross-cultural learning is on one’s fundamental beliefs, ideas, and perspectives. Being awarded the opportunity to spend the next 10 months integrated into a community and participating in Malaysian traditions will be indispensable to my future work in global education.

Q: What motivated you to apply for the scholarship?

A: Originally, I applied to the ETA program in Mongolia. After being selected as an alternate, but ultimately not receiving the scholarship, I had made plans to re-apply in the coming years. However, I was subsequently offered an ETA position in Malaysia. While the two countries are obviously very different, I was primarily interested in Fulbright because of its founding principle of “promoting international goodwill through the exchange of students in the fields of education, culture, and science.”

Q: What do you plan to achieve during the 10 months you will be teaching in Malaysia?

A: While I am in Malaysia, I will be working in a local school teaching English. I also hope to become involved in after-school programs and community activities. Given that each city in Malaysia has its own unique population, I'm excited to spend my breaks traveling around Malaysia and experiencing as much as its diverse culture as I can.