Wilton Student Named Fulbright Scholar Will Teach English in Thailand

WILTON, CT — A Wilton college student studying at Elon University will spend a year in Thailand as a cultural ambassador for the United States from a 2016-2017 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, according to an announcement from the University.

Jenna Mason, an Elon senior, graduated from Wilton High School in 2012. She has studied in Costa Rica and Spain and has worked with special needs students in England.

"This award is an opportunity for me to grow as an individual and citizen. I don’t think I could be luckier than to have the opportunity to do so in a country nicknamed ‘the land of the smiles,'” she said in an interview with the school newspaper.

A member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, Mason hopes to teach special education while pursuing a degree in speech and language pathology.

The scholarship is named for the late U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and gives students the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistant Programs, according to Fulbright's website which continues:

"During their grants, Fulbrighters will meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. Through engagement in the community, the individual will interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding."

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