University News

WIU CSP Student Accepted for Fulbright Scholarship in South Korea

May 3, 2018

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MACOMB, IL – The next step after graduation this month for Western Illinois University College Student Personnel graduate student Eden Driscoll, of Caledonia, MI, is the acceptance of a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in South Korea.

The scholarly award, through the U.S. State Department, will pay for Driscoll to spend one year as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in an elementary or secondary school, helping develop lesson plans and English classes. She leaves for South Korea in July, but won't find out exactly which portion of the country she will live in until she is immersed in a six-week orientation.

"I am very excited and a little terrified," said Driscoll. "It is always nerve-wracking to live in a country that I have never been to before and speak a language that is difficult to learn. But I have been extremely interested in Korean culture for several years, so this is an amazing opportunity."

Through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Driscoll with live with a host family, who will likely have a student enrolled in the school where she is teaching.

Driscoll said the Fulbright award fits in with her long-range plan to work in international education. The opportunity pays for her travel to South Korea, a monthly stipend, Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) training and orientation.

"I have some international friends who have been helping me learn Korean, and I have been working on it on my own for about a year. There are a few phonetic sounds that don't exist in English, which makes pronunciation difficult," she said. "During my undergrad I studied abroad in Europe and some of my best friends there were international students from Korea. My best friend is also currently living in South Korea. They sparked my interest in the country."

Another intriguing part of the opportunity for Driscoll is the current political climate in South Korea and in neighboring North Korea.

"When I applied, there were heightened tensions in South Korea and my family was nervous," she said. "This is an incredibly interesting time, and I could be witnessing history in the making first hand.

The application process for Fulbright opportunities is very selective; she had to be selected first by the U.S. Fulbright Commission before being sent to the South Korean Fulbright Commission for consideration. At that point in the process there were at least double the applicants than available spaces. Driscoll said there are about 70 other U.S. students teaching in South Korea through the Fulbright program.

For more information about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, visit bit.ly/2KrrhrA.


Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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