Saint Michael’s Fulbright scholars reconnect in 泰国

Two of the four Saint Michael’s graduates currently abroad through the 富布赖特U.S. 学生项目 recently reconnected for a weekend in 泰国. 

The two scholars – Hayley Jensen ’22 and Alexyah Dethvongsa ’22, who are in 越南 and 泰国 respectively – sent photos from their meetup with Political Science Professor Patricia Siplon, who also directs the Public Health Program and assists students in applying for Fulbright awards.

Hayley Jensen ’22 and Alexyah Dethvongsa ’22 during their weekend in 泰国. (礼貌)

Jensen and Dethvongsa are both currently working as English Teaching Assistants through the Fulbright program. 在圣. 迈克的，德旺萨的专业 Public Health and International Relations and minored in Peace and Justice while Jensen majored in International Relations and minored in TESOL and Peace and Justice. 

在一封给圣迈克尔的邮件里, Jensen explained it is currently Lunar New Year season (called Tết in 越南), 哪一个是一年中最大的庆祝活动. Everything closes to allow people to be with family. Jensen decided it was the perfect time to do some international travel. Jensen worked in 泰国 last year and had been wanting to visit old friends and see Dethvongsa. 

“I think it’s so important when living abroad to find comforts of home and connect with people whenever you can,詹森说. 只是巧合, lots of the Fulbright 泰国 cohort was also visiting Chiang Mai, 泰国, 同一个周末, 于是就有了一个大聚会.  

“They very kindly let me infiltrate their cohort,詹森说. “Most of the weekend was just spent catching up. 我们有两年没见面了!”

Hayley Jensen ’22 and Alexyah Dethvongsa ’22 with other members of the Fulbright 泰国 ETA Cohort. (礼貌)

Dethvongsa said they went to a flower festival and enjoyed catching up while they walked around the markets, admired the giant flower sculptures and beautiful parks and ate delicious street food. The duo shared similarities and differences from their experiences teaching English in 泰国 and 越南.  

“We even got to ride a Ferris wheel a sunset and see the sun set over the festival and the mountains,” Dethvongsa说. 

重新联系并找到社区 

詹森在教书 at 越南’s Hue University, the School of Hospitality and Tourism. She splits class with lecturers and teaches English for all different hospitality-related topics that students will use in their careers. She also hosts coffee hours for faculty to improve their English, proofreads many Ph.D. research manuscripts and book chapters, and supports the school’s English club.

Hayley Jensen在越南(提供)

Dethvongsa教 at 泰国’s Lamphun Technical College in Lamphun Province. Each week, she teaches students between the ages of 14 to 24 conversational English. She is the only native English speaker at the school. 在假日的时候, she also teaches about American customs or traditions, 像感恩节, 圣诞节, 或者情人节. 

“We had both applied to be a Fulbright our senior year of college and were both denied our first time applying,” Dethvongsa写道. “It was nice to be able to reflect on this together, and how much we learned in that time after graduation. 每件事都在该来的时候到来, 尽管事情没有按计划进行, I think we are both thankful for this experience and everything we’ve learned leading up to it.”

她补充说, “We talked a lot about being abroad and how much you learn about where and who you are, but also how much we learn about being American. How eye-opening it is to be here and see, hear, and talk about people’s perceptions about Americans. 很高兴能和来自圣. 迈克和他在山里. 在某种程度上，感觉就像在家里一样. We both talked about how nice it is to have those small pieces of home after spending so much time away from loved ones.”

Alexyah Dethvongsa ’22 in 泰国 (礼貌)

Saint Michael’s recently recognized by Fulbright 

Dethvongsa说 the Fulbright experience has emphasized her love for learning about other cultures.

Saint Michael’s College was recognized this week by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for being one of the colleges and universities with the highest number of students selected for the 富布赖特U.S. 学生项目.    

毕业生, 包括Jensen和Dethvongsa, are currently involved in programs in 泰国, 越南, 西班牙(杰里米·利特尔23), 墨西哥(Natalia " Aisha " Navarrete ' 23). This is the second time the College has been recognized as a Fulbright Top Producing Institution.  

在她的富布赖特经历之后, Jensen said she has plans to go back to Saint Michael’s and earn her MATESOL degree. 

“A big takeaway from my time abroad is to just roll with everything,詹森说 in her email. “乘风破浪，看看它会把你带到哪里。! If you say ‘yes’ and are open to everything, you end up in amazing situations with great stories.”