By Yesenia Sanchez

 

University Honors is proud to have Christopher Margono, fourth-year Chemistry major, as a finalist for the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) grant. The ETA grant gives recent college graduates the chance to teach English abroad at the high school, or sometimes college, level. This prestigious award can only be given to a chosen few and Margono is thrilled to be a finalist.

Margono had many to support him during this process such as his former supervisor, Erica Aros, who was a “mentor and supporter of [his] since the day [he] began working as a Resident Advisor.” He stated, “She believes in my future and is always happy to write me a letter of recommendation.” In addition, Donna Wing not only supported him but also the community organization she co-runs, the Kindling Intellectual Development (KID) Program. Others he mentioned were Gwen Hill from Health Professions Advising Center (HPAC) and Peter Suwarno from the Critical Language Scholarship Project (CLS) Program.

With the support of these people and the Fulbright award, Margono is hoping to teach English in rural Indonesia and to “be an agent of inspiration and cultural exchange for the high school student with whom I may work.” Margono is part Indonesian on his father’s side, but did not officially learn the language when he was younger. Through the Critical Language Scholarship Program he was able to go to Indonesia to study the language last summer. If he is able to go back with the ETA grant he wants to strengthen the language skills he already has. But it’s not all business and no fun. He would also like to learn some traditional Indonesian dancing while there.



With these experiences and aspirations, he may be able to charm the committee to choose him as one of the grant winners. We wish Christopher and Fatima the best of luck!