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Three Slavic students receive Fulbrights

July 20, 2015

Three Slavic students receive Fulbrights

Jared Palazza at Fulbright orientation

Congratulations to three Slavic undergraduate students -- Ryan Hedrick, Jared Palazza, and Daniel Petrick -- who have been awarded Fulbright English Teaching Associate (ETA) Fellowships for 2015-16!

Ryan Hedrick, who graduated in Spring 2015 with a Slavic minor, has received a Fulbright ETA position in Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria.

Jared Palazza (shown at left), who graduated in Spring 2015 with majors in Russian and Zoology and a minor in Microbiology, has received a Fulbright ETA position at Siberian State Medical University in Tomsk, Russia. Jared writes that "Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia with 6 universities. One in eight people there are college-aged people and, as I am told, the city has a very young, 'hip' feel to it. I am fortunate enough to be teaching medical English at the university, which I am sure will a rewarding experience as I work with future and current Russian doctors, as well as prepare for my own career in medicine. While I am in Russia I also hope to have other opportunities to be a part of the international community in Tomsk, which with so many colleges and young people from all over the world it shouldn't be much of a challenge.

I am considering trying to find a way to connect my students in Tomsk with students at Ohio State, either through the Slavic department or possibly even the public health or medical schools to discuss global health issues... An ETA alumnus, and a former classmate of mine from OSU, Eric Connelly, has also shared with me that there is a great demand in Siberia for workshops and classes on how to write resumes in English, as the UK and US resume culture is very different from the Russian. He told me that he utilized some of Ohio State's resources to help his students write their resumes for travel and study in anglophone countries and even to attend universities there. I hope to do the same in Tomsk, and especially with my medical students. 

Above all I look forward to finally seeing and experiencing the country that I have been studying, and whose language I have fallen in love with, for the past six years. Additionally, I hope to make more international connections abroad and with my fellow Fulbrighters..."

Daniel Petrick, who graduated in Spring 2015 with a Slavic minor, has received a Fulbright ETA position in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Danny reports that "During the 2015-2016 academic year I will be posted at the University of Tuzla. I studied Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS) for three years at OSU and am excited to have the opportunity to use my language abilities in a practical setting and I hope to improve my BCS to some near-fluent level over the next year. Without guidance and advice from Slavic Department faculty and funding from the Center for Slavic and East European Studies' Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship and the Holbrook Research Abroad Fellowship, which funded language study and research in Croatia and Bosnia in summers '13 and '14, I never would have been able to put together a solid Fulbright application. I feel lucky to have this year to continue pursuing my interest in the Balkans."

Congratulations to Ryan, Jared, and Danny! The department wishes you great success in your Fulbright years.