Wartburg College’s Maeve Dunne was selected by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for a Fulbright award to Taiwan through the program’s English Teaching Assistant Program.

Dunne, who just graduated with a degree in neuroscience and sociology, will spend the 2023-24 academic school year in Taitung on the southeast coast of Taiwan. The ETA Program places recent graduates and young professionals as English teaching assistants in primary and secondary schools or universities to help improve foreign students’ English language abilities and knowledge of the United States while increasing the U.S. student’s own language skills and knowledge of the host country.

“Even before my experience in Spain, I knew I wanted more experiences to be immersed in other cultures and truly learn from others in the way they live out their cultures and beliefs,” Dunne said. “While starting the application process for Fulbright, the program in Taiwan really stood out to me because I would be able to not only assist with teaching English in the classroom, but I would also have the opportunity to be a part of conversations about what it truly means to be a global citizen. Taiwan has a culture that I am eager to learn about, and I can’t wait for the growth I will see in myself after this experience. I feel honored and incredibly grateful for this opportunity.”

Upon her return to the U.S., Dunne hopes to attend law school where she will specialize in biological and sociological aspects of why people act and react the way they do as well as how their behaviors are impacted by outside influences.

In her recommendation letter, Samantha Larimer Bousquet, Wartburg’s neuroscience program coordinator and biology professor, called Dunne a conscientious, driven and respectful person who wants to get to know those who differ from herself.

“What struck me the most throughout that first conversation was Maeve’s incredibly strong sense of social justice. Ostensibly we were meeting to discuss her proposed courses for the next school year, but as part of that process we spent a lot of time talking about what she might want to do with her future,” Larimer Bousquet wrote. “Her passion for finding a way to make a true difference for others was evident in all she said.”

Dunne said she is thankful for the help she received throughout the application process from Kathleen Sihler, Wartburg’s competitive scholarship and fellowship adviser, as well as those who recommended her.

“There were points where I doubted myself and wondered if I should even apply, but they all stuck by me and encouraged me,” Dunne said. “It was a rigorous process but totally worth it in the end.”