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Fulbright Scholar will teach in Argentina

Date: 7/7/2009

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



EAST LONGMEADOW Even though Scott Clark doesn't have any definite plans about his career path, he does know that he has a passion - for the Spanish language and for the culture of Latin America.

That passion led to him being named a 2009 Fulbright Scholar.

The Fulbright Program "is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries," according to the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. "With this goal as a starting point, the Fulbright Program has provided almost 300,000 participants chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential - with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns."

Clark, a recent graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., will be in Argentina from March through November 2010, serving as a teaching assistant (TA) by instructing students in the English language and United States culture.

And, since he'll only be teaching about 20 hours a week, he'll also be doing a side project on journalism in Argentina.

"I'm hoping to find an internship with an Argentine publication and either write or intern for it," Clark explained. "I'm also hoping to write as a correspondent columnist for U.S. papers, reflecting on my experiences in Argentina."

Clark said he never intended to do what he's doing now. A member of the class of 2005 at East Longmeadow High School, he said he was undecided about what to study when he arrived at Wheaton. He said that a Spanish professor noticed that he was really invested in a project in his class and suggested that Clark double major in Hispanic studies and English.

While he was working on his majors, he also minored in Latin American studies. He graduated this spring.

"I've loved [Spanish] since the beginning, since we started learning it in sixth grade," Clark told Reminder Publications. "College brought the language alive for me. I got to see how it fits into culture."

He saw how it fit in first hand by volunteering with Cross Cultural Solutions in Costa Rica in 2007 and spending a semester at the University of Cordoba in Spain in the spring of 2008.

"The most meaningful part [of my time in Spain] was living with a family," Clark stated. "That was the biggest 'culture shock' having to survive by communicating directly with them. I'm still digesting what I learned there a year later."

And, while he enjoyed his time in Spain, Argentina has always been special to Clark. He noted that he wanted to study abroad there during his freshman year of college and that his interest in the country was piqued again when he met a TA from Argentina at Wheaton.

"It seemed like a place that was really interesting, and her [the TA's] explanations brought the culture alive," Clark said.

That TA is the one who also introduced him to the Fulbright Program. His application essays focused on the value of the idealistic and practical mix of cultural exchange.

"He's always been a compassionate person. He was always interested in school," Clark's mother, Kathy Coleman, said. "It was a surprise at the beginning [that he wanted to major in Hispanic studies but] we're very, very proud of him."

In November, Clark will learn where in Argentina he will be staying during his Fulbright Program. Until then, he'll be reading about current events in the country and focusing on "getting a real sense of its history," especially that of the 20th century.

When he returns to the U.S., he said he plans on applying to grad school for Latin American studies, with the hopes of eventually working in a center for global education studies.

"For me, this was a great process," Clark said. "It got me interested in what I love to do, what I want to do. It gets you to focus on what your passion is. It makes you think 'This is what I know so far and what I want to learn.'"