Elmhurst College Student Earns a Fullbright Grant

Lauren Williams, a recent graduate of Elmhurst College, earned a Fulbright grant to teach and study in Thailand for most of 2012.

Williams is the fifth student at Elmhurst to receive the coveted Fulbright Teaching Assistant award. Four former students—Oksana Didyk, Class of 1981; Jacquelyn L. Jancius, Class of 2000; Scott Morris, Class of 2008; and Elizabeth Glass, Class of 2010—have each earned the prestigious grants through other Fulbright programs.

The Fulbright Teaching Assistantship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is designed to strengthen English-language instruction in other nations and also to strengthen America’s international relations.

Williams will spend about 20 hours a week teaching English in Thailand. She also will work on a collection of paintings that ties HIV biology and prevention to Thai pop culture. The images will be donated to UNAIDS, a group that leads and inspires the world in achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.

Williams, a biology pre-med major, said she is looking forward to “being immersed in a culture so different from our own,” and that she chose Thailand as her place of study because she is interested in “the predominantly Buddhist culture.”

“Lauren Williams is an outstanding example of someone seizing the opportunities available to students at Elmhurst College,” said Wally Lagerwey, director of international education. “In her interview with the Fulbright Committee on campus, she impressed the members with her mature understanding of complex issues as exemplified by her discussion of cross-cultural issues related to going to Thailand and her strong record of independent research.” 

She has studied and done field work in Australia, helped Burmese refugees adapt to American culture, and participated in faculty-guided research in biology.

Williams also volunteers at a small, local hospital in her hometown of Fairfield during the summer, and has been offered a free medical education should she decide to practice medicine at that hospital. Upon her return to the United States, Williams said she plans to apply to medical school.