SU Alumna Earns Fulbright to Teach English

SALISBURY, MD---Another recent graduate of Salisbury University has won a Fulbright award.

Brittany Bursa ‘17 of Flemington, NJ, earned an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to work with university students in Brazil.

“I’m ecstatic to have the opportunity to teach students who are pursuing degrees in teaching a foreign language,” she said. “I feel very lucky to be able to teach abroad in a country where my grandparents once lived, assist students who share my goal of working with international students, and join the Fulbright family.”

Bursa was a semi-finalist for a Fulbright ETA in Spain earlier this year. She earned this award through a special summer Fulbright competition that was held to disburse additional funds from Brazil for more ETA awards, said Dr. Kristen Walton, director of SU’s Nationally Competitive Fellowships Office.

“Brittany is a spectacular young woman who was involved with so many facets of campus during her time here, including the SU Honors College,” Walton said. “This is a well-deserved win for her.”

Three other recent SU alumni also won Fulbrights for 2017-18: Hannah Ennerfelt is conducting research at a neuroscience lab in Sweden; Katherine Potvin and Matthew Jones are teaching English to students in Mongolia and Thailand, respectively. Together they represent the most student Fulbright winners SU has had at one time.  

Bursa, of Flemington, NJ, earned a bachelor’s in English and secondary education with a minor in art. She is finishing an online certificate in teaching English as a foreign language and hopes to pursue a career at a university.

“The combination of studying abroad and student teaching for my SU degree helped me to realize my ambition of working in international education,” she said. She hopes to take a Portuguese class while in Brazil.

She also is looking forward to teaching in the country of Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire, who inspired her Honors thesis, research into disparities in education, and teaching style focused on "empowering student voice."

More than 20 SU students have won national (and international) fellowships, scholarships and awards in the past five years. In addition, SU has a long history of faculty, administrator and alumni Fulbrighters.

The Fulbright is America’s flagship international exchange program and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.SU students or alumni who are interested in applying for any fellowships may contact Walton at kpwalton@salisbury.edu for assistance. 

For more information, visit www.salisbury.edu/nationalfellowships.