Two Mount St. Mary’s University seniors, Angela Vodola and Julianna Roman, have been selected as semifinalists for prestigious Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) awards through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Their applications will be sent to committees in Madagascar and Israel, respectively, for the final round of consideration.
Vodola, a native of Sandy Hook, Connecticut, is majoring in elementary education, with a concentration in special education, and minoring in theology. She is being considered for a Fulbright ETA in Madagascar, where she would assist an English teacher in a secondary school.
“I have been considering teaching abroad since my sophomore year when I took Globalization in Education and was introduced to the Mount Fellows Program,” she shared. Last year, Vodola became certified in Teaching English as a Foreign Language with the help of the professors who oversee the Fellows Program. “Teaching in another country would be an amazing experience and would help me become a better educator by expanding my knowledge of other cultures and customs,” she noted.
Roman grew up in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, with considerable exposure to world cultures. Her parents are Marco Roman, Ph.D., chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, and Roxanne Stefanik Roman, a lecturer in the same department. Roman is triple majoring in Spanish, French, and politics, philosophy, and economics, with a minor in Italian. She has applied for an ETA in Israel, which she chose to 
pursue because of her fascination with “the Jewish immigration story, a uniquely ancient and modern story of migration which I wish to understand more fully,” she shared.
If chosen, she, too, will assist a secondary-school English teacher and help to further students’ understanding of the United States, and vice versa. The competitive Fulbright ETA award is granted to students who wish to spend a year after graduation in a foreign country, teaching English and learning about their host culture.
The Competitive Fellowships Committee, comprised of faculty members, includes Director Jamie Gianoutsos, Ph.D., Associate Director Christine Blackshaw, Ph.D., Josey Chacko, Ph.D., Angy Kallarackal, Ph.D., Michelle Ohanian, Ph.D., and Garth Patterson, Ph.D., oversaw these applications and conducted the Fulbright on-campus interviews.
According to Fulbright, applicants who reach this stage will be notified if they have been selected, designated as an alternate or not selected between early March and late May, with dates to vary by country.
To learn more about the Office of Competitive Fellowships and the Mount Fellows Program, visit https://msmary.edu/fellowships.