Fulbright Reality Czech

By Maureen Heydt   This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Jack Hellerstedt Jack Hellerstedt, a postdoctoral researcher at Monash University by way of the University of Maryland, is serving this year as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to the Institute of Physics at the Czech Academy of Science in Prague. Jack is working in a lab as part of the Jelinek Group, where he conducts research related to the photographing of molecules. Close to the end of his grant year now, Jack discusses his research, which has led him to work across three continents, as well as what his research entails, and what his Fulbright experiences in Prague have been like.   -------------------------------------- Fast Facts ------------ --------- ------------------- U.S. Position: Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Science, Monash University, Australia Czech Affiliation: Institute of Physics, Czech Academy of Science, Prague Project: Two-Dimensional Quantum Spin Liquids in Organom...

By Maureen Heydt This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Megan Rodawold Megan Rodawold is a 23 year-old American, serving this year as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to the Czech Republic. Megan, a graduate of Grand Valley State University, is spending the year living in the small Czech town of Trutnov, located in the Eastern Bohemia region. For her Fulbright grant, Megan is actually serving as an ETA to two secondary schools this year! Read below to find out how she manages teaching at two schools, and why she loves living in the Czech Republic as a Fulbrighter. -------------------------------------- Fast Facts ------------ --------- ------------------- Hometown: Aurora, Illinois Education: Grand Valley State University, Writing/International Relations, Applied Linguistics School in Czech Republic: OŠ zdravotnická a Střední zdravotnická, Trutnov, and Obchodní akademie, Trutnov Age: 23 Favorite Czech word: sníh (snow) Favorite quote: “T...

By Maureen Heydt This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Thomas Lepke Thomas Lepke is serving this year as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to a secondary school located in the small town of Velešín, Czech Republic. Velešín, population 4,000, is now home to Thomas and his wife Geena, as they work to integrate into their community by building relationships that they hope will last a lifetime. Thomas, an alum of the prestigious Teach for America program, is teaching English at a technical school, where he also runs an English Club. His club has coordinated events with the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Prague, including facilitating an Iraqi youth dialogue, where students in both the Czech Republic and Iraq were able to communicate with each other via Skype. Read below to find out more about what living in a small, southern Bohemian town for a year has been like for Thomas and his wife.   -------------------------------------- Fast Fac...