Eliza Silverman ’14 has worn many hats since coming to Scripps College: politics & international relations major, Motley barista, Choice USA treasurer, KidCare International tutor, and Humanities Institute Junior Fellow among others. Now she can add another: Fulbright fellowship recipient.
Silverman’s interest in the fellowship is due largely in part to her growing interest in education policy, specifically her thesis concentration: American education politics. Her pursuit of local and state education policy was “facilitated by classes across The Claremont Colleges and by academic advisor Nancy Neiman Auerbach.”
The Fulbright opportunity will take Silverman to Indonesia, where she will work full-time as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA). (A semester studying and teaching English in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam laid the foundation.) In preparation, she will learn Indonesian, the national language, and ready herself for the inevitable adjustments culture shock brings.
“I have been surrounded by brilliant, outspoken Scripps students for the last four years,” she says. “I welcome the change of pace. It will be hard, and I will learn from it.” Silverman has already begun developing a life plan following her Fulbright; she’ll return to her hometown of Seattle to work at City Year, an AmeriCorps program that provides class room assistance and after school program organization for underserved schools. From there she intends to build a network within Washington state politics to improve public education.
Becoming a Fulbright recipient was a natural fit for Silverman’s fervor for education “I think I wrote 30 separate versions of my personal statement” she says. But after her tireless effort on her application, combined with relevant experience to back it up, Eliza says putting in the time and effort is, “always worth it.”