Nelson Blake, a member of DePauw University’s senior class and the Indiana Zeta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta, will spend the upcoming academic year teaching English in Germany after being awarded an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and established in 1946, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program competition aims to increase mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchange while serving as a catalyst for long-term leadership development.
A double major in German and environmental geoscience, Blake is an initiate of Phi Beta Kappa. His desire to study German was developed through an interest in the history of his family, which settled in Texas from Germany. During his time at DePauw he has had the opportunity to both study and work in Germany where he has gained advanced proficiency in the language. He has completed internships for SirPlus, a food waste startup, in Berlin, Germany as well as for Highfield Energy, an alternative energy company, in Dublin, Ireland.
Blake will spend the coming year teaching English in the German state of Sachsen-Anhalt. After his year in Germany he plans to continue his studies in graduate school.
He states, “Having lost my grandfather this past November, who was my biggest inspiration for wanting to learn German, receiving the Fulbright has a whole new meaning and importance to me, especially since I have learned that I will be placed in the state from which his family immigrated to America. In particular, I would like to thank Professor Inge Aures for her encouraging me to apply for Fulbright.”
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. It awards approximately 8,000 grants annually in more than 160 countries worldwide. More than 390,000 individuals have participated in the program since its inception.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State, funded by an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
