Senior Tyler Kunkle earned a Fulbright award, which will allow him to teach English to German students.
Kunkle will be in the Rhineland-Palatinate area and will be teaching children from elementary to high school levels.
Kunkle described the online application process as un-thought provoking and a series of fill-in-the-blank questions. He then was required to obtain two letters of recommendation from academic professionals, as well as submit a transcript and a letter from a professor that certified his foreign language abilities.
Kunkle described the essay section of the application as the more challenging part of the process. He was required to write two single-spaced, one-page essays. One of them was a Statement of Grant Purpose, for which he laid out the plans for his stay, as well as why he chose Germany and what led him to want to be an English teaching assistant.
The other essay was a personal statement, which focused on what Kunkle has done in the past and what he hopes to accomplish in the future.
After Kunkle submitted his application, he had a practice interview with faculty on campus. About a week later, he had the actual interview. During the interview, Kunkle answered questions about his application and his life goals. He was rated on a one to five scale. This was then submitted, along with his application, to the selection committee, which takes the applications, reviews them and cuts the number in half.
During the next step of the process, the panel in the United States sent those applications to Germany, and the German panel decided which applicants they would like to accept.
Kunkle studied abroad for a year in Germany, which was a benefit on his application. It also allowed him to become proficient in the German language, as well as showed his interest in German culture and his desire to be involved internationally. “After going abroad with Brethren Colleges Abroad (BCA) for just over a year, I am excited to return with a Fulbright,” Kunkle said. “I am looking forward to speaking German as my primary language.”
Kunkle will be teaching at one school, but he will rotate between English classrooms and offer his assistance with the language wherever necessary. He will not be required to facilitate research, but will be required to do an outside engagement through community English lessons and teaching the students about the Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch. Kunkle will be provided housing, insurance and airfare, plus 800 additional Euros a month for food and discretionary income.
Kunkle is a double major in international business and German. He has received outstanding international business senior recognition and honors in the discipline for German.
Currently, Kunkle has an internship at the WeBstaurant division of Clark Associates and Company in Lititz, Pa. in the logistics department. Kunkle recently finished up an internship in York, Pa. at Gateway Logistics as a marketing and logistics intern.
This summer, he will be completing an internship in Texas, which he received through the international business department’s connections at KBA North American, a company that operates and manufactures printing presses. He speaks German fluently, and minimal Spanish and Russian.
The U.S. Congress established the Fulbright Program in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The purpose of the program is to create a mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.
The Fulbright program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide and has provided approximately 318,000 participants with the opportunity to study, teach or conduct research in each other’s countries and exchange ideas in different areas of the world. Kunkle was one of 140 grant recipients out of 395 applicants.
