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Expanding her Boundaries Post-Graduation

Carolina Solms-Baruth '09 is awarded a Fulbright grant for an English Teaching Assistantship in Germany.  

By Heather Templeton '10

Carolina Solms-Baruth
Assistantship recipient, Carolina Solms-Baruth
will teach English in Germany and hopes to
conduct social research while abroad.

Carolina Solms-Baruth '09 from Leonardtown, Md., has been awarded a Fulbright grant to participate in an English Teaching Assistantship Program in Germany. The program runs from September 2009 through June 2010. 

The Fulbright Program is the largest U.S. international exchange program and offers the opportunity for students to participate in international graduate study, research or teaching within universities, elementary and secondary schools worldwide. 

While in Baden-Württemberg, one of the 16 states in Germany, Solms-Baruth also hopes to pursue social research within the German culture. During her senior year at Wesleyan, she completed research examining how the citizenship reform affected ideas of German citizenship and national belonging with regard to individuals of Turkish descent.

Double majoring in International Studies and German, Solms-Baruth has a passion for studying and traveling abroad. 

"Getting out of the United States provides for exposure to new cultures, languages, and most importantly, new perspectives on important global issues," she said. 

During her four years at Virginia Wesleyan, she participated in Wesleyan's direct exchange program with Humboldt Universität in Berlin, Germany, and studied abroad in Costa Rica. She has worked in a hostel in Istanbul, Turkey, and attended language schools in Spain, Costa Rica, Germany and Turkey.

"Each trip abroad is very different, but they all have one thing in common: each trip I come out stronger and wiser."
- Carolina Solms-Baruth "Each trip abroad is very different, but they all have one thing in common: each trip I come out stronger and wiser," she said. "For me, the language, architecture, and cuisine are always the highlights of any country."

Following graduation, Solms-Baruth is spending the summer abroad in Turkey.

She is studying the Turkish language for two months in Ankara, Turkey, as a recipient of a grant through the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.

"The Critical Language Scholarship Program is perfect for my research interests," said Solms-Baruth. "I have done extensive research on Turkish immigration and integration in Germany, and I would like to conduct research/administer social surveys in Germany."

After completion of her summer program in Turkey and teaching assistantship through the Fulbright grant, Solms-Baruth plans on taking a year off to travel, work and conduct research. She eventually plans to enter a graduate program to continue her education.

06.03.09