Local Student David Schlenker of Brookline Earns Academic Recognition at Skidmore College

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY (07/02/2013)(readMedia)-- David Schlenker, a member of the Class of 2013 at Skidmore College, earned academic recognition and cemented his post-college plans this spring.

He is the son of Debra Poskanzer and Howard Schlenker of Brookline.

Schlenker, a history and international affairs major, has received a Fulbright award to work as an English teaching assistant in Turkey. He will draw on his experience in Istanbul during the spring 2012 semester, as well as his training in intergroup relations at Skidmore "to facilitate interdisciplinary discussions between diverse groups of people to promote intercultural education."

He says, "I wanted to do a Fulbright ever since I heard of its existence. The fellowship provides the best of postgraduate worlds: time to explore and time to gain experience. While in Turkey, I am not only expected to work but also to completely immerse myself in the culture to become a cultural intermediary between the U.S. and Turkey. This grant, along with my position as a Teach for America Corps member in Charlotte, N.C., beginning in July 2014, will give me a strong foundation for understanding the problems and effects of education inequality."

Schlenker is a member of the College's Periclean Honors Forum and the Skidmore chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society. Last summer, as an inaugural recipient of Skidmore's SEE Beyond awards, he spent the summer as an intern with Project WHY in New Delhi, India.

He plans to pursue graduate studies in education policy, advocacy, and reform to better understand how to institutionalize quality education for everyone.

Schlenker earned a B.A. degree cum laude with honor in history and in international affairs at Skidmore's 102nd commencement in May. In addition, he received the Katherine Scranton Rozendaal Citizenship Award, named in honor of a former trustee and awarded to seniors who have lived and learned respectably by the Skidmore Honor Code.

Founded in 1903, Skidmore College is a coeducational, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The college grants the bachelor's degree in some 60 majors, including both traditional liberal arts disciplines and preprofessional programs. Skidmore also awards the master of arts in liberal studies degree.