Albany, N.Y. Native Katie Schuff Wins Fulbright Grant

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SCHENECTADY, NY (04/02/2012)(readMedia)-- Katie Schuff '12 is taking her love for teaching to Indonesia as the recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.

Passionate about providing quality education, Schuff will spend about nine months in Indonesia, teaching English in a rural high school setting about 20 hours per week.

"Education opens the door for all opportunities," she said. "I want to focus on making sure that every child has access to quality education and teachers no matter their class or race."

Schuff, who is from Albany, N.Y., went on a term abroad to Barbados, participated in an independent study in Cambodia and most recently joined the Civil Rights mini-term. She also traveled to Hawaii for a physics conference.

"Union College has opened up so many doors in my life that I didn't even think could be opened," she said.

After her time in Indonesia, she will work for Teach for America, which gave her a one-year deferment to complete her Fulbright assistantship. She hopes to take language courses at a local university or from a resident.

"I am very passionate about teaching, and I cannot even begin to express what it means to me that I am going to be a part of two of the best teaching programs in the country," she said.

Schuff credited the work of the College's faculty and administration for their help during the process, including Philip Poczik, director of the Academic Opportunity Program; Maggie Tongue, director of Post-Baccalaureate Fellowships; Hal Fried, the David L and Beverly B Yunich Professor of Business Ethics; and Bill Zwicker, the William D. Williams Professor of Mathematics.

"She had a great background from her teaching experiences traveling abroad," Tongue said. "Since she will be going on to a career in education, this Fulbright program was a terrific fit for her."

Union College, founded in 1795 as the first college chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, offers programs in the liberal arts and engineering to 2,100 undergraduates of high academic promise and strong personal motivation. Union, with its long history of blending disciplines, is a leader in educating students to be engaged, innovative and ethical contributors to an increasingly diverse, global and technologically complex society.