I graduated in 2001 with a degree in Spanish. While at Oberlin, I was active on the Women’s Rugby team, and spent one semester abroad in Siena, Italy. Although I focused on Spanish, I also studied Italian and French. In my senior year at Oberlin, I applied and was selected for the Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association Fellowship. Following graduation, I departed for Jogjakarta, Indonesia, to teach English at Gadjah Mada University.
Unfortunately, because of security concerns after the events of September 11, 2001, the fellowship was cut short and deferred to the following year. I returned to the U.S. in October 2001 and moved to Oakland, California. While working at a workers’ compensation law firm, I trained for and ran the Newport Marathon in Oregon.
I returned to Indonesia in August of 2002 on the reinstated Shansi fellowship. Again unfortunately, the fellowship was stopped because of security concerns after several bombs exploded in Kuta, Bali, in October of 2002. I decided to stay in Indonesia without the support of the fellowship to continue teaching at Gadjah Mada University.
At Gadjah Mada, I taught English in three programs, the undergraduate programs for bachelors’ degrees and associates’ degrees in English, and at a Masters’ program in Comparative Religion and Cross-Cultural Studies. I taught a variety of courses, helped students to apply for scholarships to study abroad, and edited Masters’ theses written in English.
In 2004, the Oberlin Memorial Shansi Association started making arrangements to re-start the fellowship program to Indonesia, and I was happy to assist in that process. When I returned in June 2005, a new Shansi Fellow had just arrived to take over my teaching duties. In September 2005, I entered a Master’s program in Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan.
While living in Jogjakarta I became fluent in Indonesian and started learning Javanese. This summer I will return to Java for two months this summer on a fellowship to study Javanese intensively. This fall, while completing my MA program, I plan to apply for Ph.D. programs in anthropology or history.
I returned to Indonesia in August of 2002 on the reinstated Shansi fellowship. Again unfortunately, the fellowship was stopped because of security concerns after several bombs exploded in Kuta, Bali, in October of 2002. I decided to stay in Indonesia without the support of the fellowship to continue teaching at Gadjah Mada University.
At Gadjah Mada, I taught English in three programs, the undergraduate programs for bachelors’ degrees and associates’ degrees in English, and at a Masters’ program in Comparative Religion and Cross-Cultural Studies. I taught a variety of courses, helped students to apply for scholarships to study abroad, and edited Masters’ theses written in English.
In 2004, the Oberlin Memorial Shansi Association started making arrangements to re-start the fellowship program to Indonesia, and I was happy to assist in that process. When I returned in June 2005, a new Shansi Fellow had just arrived to take over my teaching duties. In September 2005, I entered a Master’s program in Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan.
While living in Jogjakarta I became fluent in Indonesian and started learning Javanese. This summer I will return to Java for two months this summer on a fellowship to study Javanese intensively. This fall, while completing my MA program, I plan to apply for Ph.D. programs in anthropology or history.
