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After graduating, Sophie Flott ’22 will spend a year in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA).

Sophie Flott ?22 Sophie Flott ’22 Sophie always wanted to be a teacher, and she has taken advantage of every opportunity she could to prepare herself for the profession. At Carthage, Sophie majored in elementary education and minored in German and Spanish. She spent many hours observing classrooms and working toward being certified to teach in Wisconsin. She’s worked in a nursery, as a swim teacher and coach, and as a tutor at Carthage. She also volunteered at a kindergarten.

Fulbright ETAs serve as ambassadors for US culture in their host countries and work with local teachers, adding authenticity to high school English classes. They also often engage with members of the local community. Sophie was accepted into Fulbright’s Diversity Placement Program, which will involve working at a school with a high population of students from minority groups, including immigrants and refugees.

A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Sophie looks forward to the immersive Fulbright Fellowship experience. She previously spent time studying abroad while enrolled at Carthage and living abroad with her family, which helped prepare her for her upcoming year in Germany. Unlike her earlier experiences, however, she is likely to be the only American in the German school and town.

“The ability to travel to a different country and live there as a local is a life goal I’ve been chasing since I was six years old and discovered how interesting it was to be different but the same,” she says, referring to her time living with her family in Germany as a child. “I have been an American living in Germany. What the Fulbright Fellowship will give me is the chance to be perceived as a local.”

Sophie began talking with Carthage professors and planning essays for her fellowship application about a year ago. After many drafts and interviews with Carthage’s Fulbright Committee, she submitted her application last fall. She was named a semi-finalist by the US Fulbright Commission over the winter, and then her application was sent on to the German Fulbright Commission before she was awarded the scholarship. As a Fulbright ETA, Sophie will be paid a stipend to cover her travel costs and living expenses for a year in Germany.

Carthage has a successful history of supporting students from a wide variety of departments who have gone on to win Fulbright Scholarships. In past years, the US State Department has named Carthage a leading producer of Fulbright grants. Sophie is the most recent recipient in a long series of Carthaginians applying their liberal arts education to the challenging demands of living and teaching abroad as part of the Fulbright Program.

The Fulbright Program, the flagship international academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, has fostered mutual understanding between the United States and other countries since 1946. According to the US State Department’s description of the Fulbright Program, “The program provides awards to approximately 8,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals each year from the United States and 160 countries. Fulbright is unique in its binationalism and noted for its merit-based selection process and academic prestige…Fulbright alumni from the United States and around the world have gone on to achieve distinction in government, science, the arts, business, philanthropy, and education. Among the ranks of Fulbright alumni are 61 Nobel Prize recipients, 75 MacArthur Foundation Fellows, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 40 current or former heads of state or government.

Sponsoring Department, Office, or Organization:

Student Fellowships

For more information, contact:

Greg Baer: gbaer@carthage.edu