Seniors going abroad
Ellen Cormier
Issue date: 5/14/09 Section: News
As their Smith careers come to a close, seniors inevitably look ahead to their plans. For some, this includes starting a career, for others it means enrolling in graduate school and, for a few members of the class of '09, it means packing bags to go abroad. Both Erin Whelchel and Elizabeth Pusack are among a number of soon-to-be-graduates who will spend their first year out teaching in a foreign country.
Whelchel's plans solidified this spring when she won a teaching fellowship through the French Cultural Consulate. Following Commencement, she will work as a French Government Teaching Assistant at the Academie de Montpellier, and in her downtime, she plans to write. "I will be teaching English to children at various schools… When not teaching, the writer in me will surely be filling steno books with ideas for stories and poems," Whelchel said.
A transfer student, Whelchel was unable to do the traditional junior year abroad and is "thrilled at the prospect of living overseas for the very first time." Pusack, likewise, remained at Smith during her junior year and "decided… instead to stay here spending time scribbling on scraps of paper and making toys."
Pusack, a Fulbright recipient, will spend the year in Vienna teaching on a schoolboat and researching archived diaries.
"I feel like this will finally give me the chance to apply all the reasonable things I've learned" at Smith, she said.
Whelchel also sees her time abroad as an opportunity to incorporate the lessons learned at Smith into her post-graduate life. "My participation in the assistantship program will be a wonderful way to learn about the French education system and to work closely with members of my host community," Whelchel said. Moreover, Whelchel feels certain that her experiences in Montpellier will challenge and change her perspective on the world. Upon returning to the United States, she hopes to bring this "new outlook" to her graduate studies.
Both seniors credit Smith's language departments with preparing them for their coming adventures. For Whelchel, the lessons learned were not always linguistic. "At Smith I have learned that people, if asked, are almost always willing to offer advice or help," she said, adding that her "French has improved dramatically."
Pusack is also thankful for the help and support of the German department. "I love them all, and they put up with my horrid grammar and I've read so many lovely, lovely books," she said. Nonetheless, Pusack feels somewhat unprepared for the challenges of living in a foreign country.
"I will have to point at the chocolate cakes behind the glass instead of asking for them in a civilized manner," she said.
Interestingly, neither Whelchel nor Pusack made their decision going to go abroad in response to the current economic recession. However, in retrospect, Pusack is relieved to postpone her job search, joking that she is "not fond of wearing shoes or buying resume paper."
Whelchel's plans solidified this spring when she won a teaching fellowship through the French Cultural Consulate. Following Commencement, she will work as a French Government Teaching Assistant at the Academie de Montpellier, and in her downtime, she plans to write. "I will be teaching English to children at various schools… When not teaching, the writer in me will surely be filling steno books with ideas for stories and poems," Whelchel said.
A transfer student, Whelchel was unable to do the traditional junior year abroad and is "thrilled at the prospect of living overseas for the very first time." Pusack, likewise, remained at Smith during her junior year and "decided… instead to stay here spending time scribbling on scraps of paper and making toys."
Pusack, a Fulbright recipient, will spend the year in Vienna teaching on a schoolboat and researching archived diaries.
"I feel like this will finally give me the chance to apply all the reasonable things I've learned" at Smith, she said.
Whelchel also sees her time abroad as an opportunity to incorporate the lessons learned at Smith into her post-graduate life. "My participation in the assistantship program will be a wonderful way to learn about the French education system and to work closely with members of my host community," Whelchel said. Moreover, Whelchel feels certain that her experiences in Montpellier will challenge and change her perspective on the world. Upon returning to the United States, she hopes to bring this "new outlook" to her graduate studies.
Both seniors credit Smith's language departments with preparing them for their coming adventures. For Whelchel, the lessons learned were not always linguistic. "At Smith I have learned that people, if asked, are almost always willing to offer advice or help," she said, adding that her "French has improved dramatically."
Pusack is also thankful for the help and support of the German department. "I love them all, and they put up with my horrid grammar and I've read so many lovely, lovely books," she said. Nonetheless, Pusack feels somewhat unprepared for the challenges of living in a foreign country.
"I will have to point at the chocolate cakes behind the glass instead of asking for them in a civilized manner," she said.
Interestingly, neither Whelchel nor Pusack made their decision going to go abroad in response to the current economic recession. However, in retrospect, Pusack is relieved to postpone her job search, joking that she is "not fond of wearing shoes or buying resume paper."
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