UNL's Kelleen Browning earns Fulbright to Germany

            Kelleen Browning, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student with majors in German and German secondary education and a graduate of Skyline High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho, has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Scholarship in Germany for the 2014-15 academic year.

            Browning previously spent six months in Germany in UNL's Deutsch in Deutschland program. She said she was influenced to apply for the Fulbright because her sister is currently serving as an English teaching assistant in Germany.

            Browning will be joining fellow UNL students traveling to Germany on Fulbright awards, with whom she is excited to share her experience. This time, she looks forward to more cultural immersion.

            "I'm so excited to go back to Germany and interact more with German people and students," she said.

            Browning has English Language Learning (ELL) certification through Lincoln Literacy, has been a volunteer teaching assistant while studying abroad in Germany and is finishing her student teaching at Lincoln East High School. Through all of these experiences, Browning has taught a variety of students from elementary school to adulthood.

            While in Germany, Browning will teach English and inform students about American culture. She hopes to share American culture lessons with her students by hosting an English film night as well as by conducting a letter exchange between her current students in the United States and those she will teach in Germany. In addition, she will reinforce her own skills in the German language and further familiarize herself with the culture by joining a local choir. This will also help her become more involved in the community in which she will be placed, she said.

            Ali Moeller, who specializes in German language instruction in UNL's Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education, said Browning will be "an excellent representative and ambassador for the United States while teaching in Germany."

            "Kelleen is passionate about the German language and culture. She immerses her students in a language-rich and authentic learning environment," Moeller said.

            Browning said she plans to eventually become a high school German teacher in the United States. Browning's is the fourth announced Fulbright to UNL students this spring. Others include:

• Abigail Jameson, a nutrition and health sciences major, to Indonesia: http://go.unl.edu/ttkp;
• Emily Heineman, a German and history major, to Germany: http://go.unl.edu/dgtt; and
• Paul Strauss, a history doctoral candidate, to Germany: http://go.unl.edu/pyzg.

            The Fulbright Program, established in 1946 and funded by the U.S. Department of State, is designed to foster understanding between the United States and other countries. The U.S. Student Fulbright program gives recent graduates, graduate students and young professionals the opportunity to conduct research, study, or teach in one of the 155 designated countries. About 8,000 grants are awarded annually, and about 1,600 of those grants are awarded to U.S. students.

Writer: Kristin Sauma