Amanda Langan '18 has received a Student Fulbright Teaching Assistant award for Argentina.
GENESEO, N.Y. -- A few weeks into her 2017 study abroad semester in Córdoba, Amanda Langan’s Argentine friend Pilar Herrera asked a tricky but familiar question, “¿Por qué todos los estadounidenses se llaman americanos?,” which roughly means, “Why do all ‘unitedstates-ians’ call themselves Americans?”
Langan ’18, a Spanish education major, explained that in English “estadounidense” doesn’t directly translate, and answered, “If you’re from the United States of America, you call yourself American.” Pilar retorted that she was also American, along with the rest of the South American continent. To this day, Langan still feels conflicted by her friend’s response as she has struggled throughout the years with the meaning of the word and her place as a global citizen.
“As someone who has travelled to Europe, Latin America and Western Africa, I know what it’s like to be immediately identified as ‘estadounidense,’” she said. “While sometimes I feel judged or misunderstood, I have learned to take pride in the fact that in such moments I am a cultural ambassador with the power to change people’s preconceived notions about where I come from.”
As a 2018-19 U.S. Student Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) winner to Argentina, Langan will have a chance to continue to change minds by immersing herself in a community and serving as an English teacher in a university or training college in one of the Argentine provinces.
Langan becomes the 25th Geneseo U.S. Student Fulbright award winner, the first coming in 1984, with 21 awards coming since 2010. For the 2018-19 applicant period, Geneseo had a record 19 applications, with eight of the applicants becoming semi-finalists, also the highest number in the College’s history. Langan is the fourth of those semi-finalists to win a Fulbright and joins Leandra Griffith ’16 who earlier won for Belgium, Matt McClure ’16 who will spend next year in South Korea, Shauna Ricketts ’18 who secured a grant for Bulgaria, and Sarah Simon ’17 who won for Uruguay. Two semi-finalists--Martin Beach ’14 (Malta), Sarah Phillips ’18 (Colombia)---were named alternates.
“Returning to Argentina as a Fulbright Scholar will redefine my connection to the country and I hope it redefines other’s connection to the United States,” said Langan. “My focus will not be on passing classes or solely improving my language abilities like past visits, but to teach English with cultural awareness and vulnerability.”
As a Spanish Education major, Langan is passionate about being in front of the classroom and connecting with students but feels “an interesting complex” when it comes to teaching English which has “almost become a cliché as our world becomes seemingly smaller. The desire of many to learn English is only growing on a global scale, and I worry about its effect on other languages and their respective cultures.”
Earlier in the year and for the first time in the College’s history, SUNY Geneseo was named a Top Producer of U.S. Student Fulbright awards for 2017-18, a recognition the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced in its annual article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Six Geneseo alumni won U.S. Student Fulbright awards for 2017-18, placing the College third among all 742 Carnegie classification master’s degree institutions. Geneseo was the only dedicated SUNY institution to be named a Top Producer of U.S. Student Awards in any category – bachelor’s, master’s, research, or special-focus four-year.
Langan’s first study abroad experience in Argentina was through a summer program with American Field Service (AFS) in 2010 when she was living with the Bañuelos, a host-family she continues to talk to daily almost eight years later. In spring 2017, she studied at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and stayed with the same family. One of the goals of the U.S. Student Fulbright Program is intercultural exchange and awareness through immersion in a community.
“Besides the connection with my Argentine family, I enjoy the country's culture--especially the openness and warmth of the people, routine Sunday barbecues, and the conscious separation of work and life,” she said. “I have an affinity for Latin America where I’ve been lucky enough to spend ample time in six distinct countries. My obsession with the Spanish language began after my first exchange to Costa Rica and where I was exposed to Latin music.”
“Receiving this award means that the U.S. and Argentine governmental officials recognize my passion for creating cultural understanding,” Langan said. “Their belief in my ability to accomplish this by teaching English gives me the confidence I need to be an authentic ambassador. I am looking forward to dissecting any unconscious biases that I hold to fully understand how my country’s culture is viewed by those of Argentina, and vice versa.”
As part of the Fulbright process, seniors and alumni who apply through Geneseo go through an internal application process. A committee composed of faculty and staff review applications and interview applicants, ultimately making a recommendation to the commission about each. This year’s faculty members included Assistant Professor of French Kate Fredericks; Associate Professor of German Cyndy Klima; Professor of Theatre Melanie Blood; Assistant Professor of History Megan Abbas; and Adjunct Lecturer in English and Languages and Literatures Wes Kennison. From Geneseo Study Abroad, Associate Director Sam Cardamone, Assistant Director Emily Froome, and Adviser Emily Cole also participated in the collaborative and supportive interview process.
Langan will draw from her four previous travel and study experiences in Argentina to inform her ETA teaching. During her study abroad at La Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in La Facultad de Lenguas, Langan took a fourth-year course contrasting English and Spanish grammar. As a native speaker, she became “a powerful tool for the class, explaining idiomatic expressions, pointing out outdated words and helping with pronunciation. Sharing the inside of my English-wired mind with my peers also helped me to better understand the complexities of my own native tongue.”
“The more globalized the world becomes, the more it seems that cultures misunderstand one another,” she said. “Teaching English, for me, is an effort to create understanding and a shared sense of culture that is so important in our interconnected world.”
The U.S. Student Fulbright 2019-2020 competition, which is open to students and recent alumni, is administered at Geneseo by the Director of National Fellowships and Scholarships, Michael Mills, who can be reached at millsm@geneseo.edu and 585-245-6002. More information about the Fulbright and other nationally and internationally competitive scholarship and fellowship programs can be found at https://www.geneseo.edu/fellowships_and_scholarships.
After graduating in May, Langan plans to work as a LTS Spanish teacher for the next few months before her Argentine adventure begins. After the Fulbright, she plans on staying in the classroom.
“I know that I will be teaching in some capacity in the future and eventually I want to continue my education and pursue linguistics and/or Latin-American studies.”
Pilar’s question about “estadounidense” still vexes Langan as she seeks common ground and understanding in classrooms and communities between all “Americans,” South and North. As part of their placements, Fulbrighters are expected to engage in projects or other activities related to their academic interests during the period of their grants. Langan’s documentary project will bring together people from the United States and Argentina by “openly posing questions to each other about their lives. I want to emphasize the fact that we are all Americans, not just because we share a continent but because we are citizens in a globalized world.”