German majors who won prestigious postgraduate scholarships include (l-r)
Brian Weigandt, Christina Wesche, and David Poytinger.


Fulbright Futures
From the Winter 2005 issue of LuxEsto
By Nania Lee, K’03

Kalamazoo College inspires and nurtures a commitment to lifelong learning that expresses itself in many ways. For Brian Weigandt ’04 and Christina Wesche ’04, seeking (and achieving) the prestigious Fulbright scholarship demonstrates an ongoing passion for foreign language and culture, a healthy post-graduate commitment to academics and internationalism, and their unflagging eagerness to contribute to the world as teachers.

Brian majored in economics and German and spent nine months in Erlangen during his junior year. For his Integrative Cultural Research Project (ICRP, a requirement of many of the College’s study abroad programs), he made several visits to a senior citizen center, where he participated in activities, formed relationships with the residents, and conducted interviews with those who had lived during World War II. As part of his ICRP Brian collected residents’ stories of post-war Nuremberg, and he says, "It was amazing to hear their experiences of the bombings and the hard times following the war and how these events shaped their current view of the world.” His Senior Individualized Project (SIP) also focused on German culture. It explored anti-Americanism in German literature from the 18th century to the present.

Brian had the passion and potential to be awarded the Fulbright, but getting through the lengthy and meticulous selection process also required persistence, the source of which was his desire to build valuable teaching skills while sharing his own culture and language with German students. "But mostly," he says, "I wanted to return to the country that has been the site of so many great experiences and memories—a country that feels like my second home."

Christina Wesche ’04 discovered her love for German before most people are able to master a first language. At the age of five, Christina and her brother began German lessons, and later attended summer camp at Concordia Language Village in Minnesota. Her parents exposed Christina to several different languages, including French and Russian, during her home schooling from grades three through six. In high school Christina spent time in Germany and afterwards chose Kalamazoo College because of its strong study abroad program. She majored in International Area Studies and in German and spent six months in Erlangen during her junior year. Her ICRP, somewhat related to her experience of working in a coffee shop in the United States, became an ethnography of "KaffeeKultur" in Erlangen. Christina observed the people, patterns, and habits of four different café crowds and reported her findings.

When she returned to Kalamazoo College for her senior year, she combined two loves—music and the German language—in a senior voice recital performance of works by German-speaking composers, including Handel, Mozart, Schubert, Hugo Wolf, and Kurt Weill.

Why seek a Fulbright? According to Christina the answer’s found in its mission statement, which emphasizes the importance of spreading "cultural awareness through experience." She says simply, "That’s exactly what I was interested in doing."

The selection process for the Fulbright Scholarship is rigorous and lengthy. According to Diane Kiino, director of health sciences and faculty representative for several fellowships and scholarships, including the Fulbright, students seriously committed to earning the prestigious award should begin work on their applications during the summer before the senior year. They submit drafts of their applications to a campus review committee. During a formal interview committee members and the Fulbright hopefuls review the candidates’ scholarship proposals, their autobiographical statements, their language evaluations, and their transcripts and letters of recommendation. From this intense interview, a numerical rating is assigned to each student. All qualified applicants complete polished versions of their applications, which are then sent to New York and evaluated by the National Screening Committee of the Institute for International Education (IIE). That body selects the finalists, who are now about half-way through the selection process. Finalists must complete a second lengthy application entirely in their foreign language specialization for the review committee of the country where they desire to study. Brian and Christina’s applications were evaluated by the German Fulbright Commission. A third German major, David Poytinger, completed an application for a fellowship similar to the Fulbright, which was evaluated by an Austrian panel. In April of their senior year the three German majors were notified of their awards. In other language programs, seniors Charlie Allen, Nora Hauk, and Max Cherem earned Fulbright scholarships for Spain, Korea, and Nepal, respectively.

Christina and Brian recognize the honor a Fulbright signifies, for themselves and the College, and both expressed gratitude to the German department. Brian gave a special thanks to Jennifer Redmann, who joined the Kalamazoo College German faculty in 2002, and to Hardy Fuchs, who recently retired after a 35-year career at the College. "Not only are they outstanding role models for the students, [both Redmann and Fuchs are former Fulbright scholars]," says Brian, "they also are invested in their students’ success. In fact, that’s true for the entire department."

Feelings of respect and gratitude are mutual. Says Fuchs of the Fulbright scholars, "They are motivated, qualified, and ‘old hands’ at immersion in another culture. It has been particularly satisfying to have established a German language relationship with them. Their proficiency is of such quality that I am not conscious anymore of the fact that they are actually native speakers of English!"

Redmann agrees. "For an institution the size of Kalamazoo College to turn out multiple Fulbright scholars demonstrates extraordinary curricular and experiential excellence," she says. "And yet the accomplishment isn’t all that surprising because the school tends to attract students with an international focus who are concerned with the world. They are also adventuresome and curious."

Brian and Christina are two of hundreds of Kalamazoo College students who study abroad every year. Many of those, like Brian and Christina, continue to seek to understand unfamiliar worlds. Christina says, "Today understanding other cultures is especially important, and I think Kalamazoo recognizes that fact. Experiencing other cultures enables you to learn about new perspectives and as a result learn new things about yourself."