By Aneyceia Brim
Four staff members from across the globe visited the Puget Sound community to teach. Farizah Ahmad, Megan Daniels, Liling (Lily) Lin, and Sarah Makeschin, are all foreign instructors.
Farizah Ahmad is from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She taught English as a secondary teacher there.
Ahmad is also a Fulbright Scholar which allows her to assist in an Indonesian language class at the university.
The program that Ahmad is a part of is called Foreign Language Teaching Assistant and is funded by the United States government. The application process is competitive and Ahmad was one of few to be chosen.
“I was looking forward to experiencing a liberal arts school actually, [because I did] my undergraduate studies in a big school. So, it’s definitely a change,” said Ahmed.
Ahmed has always wanted to travel to the U.S. but the cost of travel has prevented her. As a Fulbright Scholar, she is now able to see that dream come true.
Ahmed has wanted to experience American culture and has used the Puget Sound community to do so.
Ahmed has joined several cultural and spiritual organizations on campus. She hopes to gain an understanding of the culture and lifestyle through clubs such as Asian Pacific-American Student Union, Black Student Union, Hillel, Muslim Student Union, and mediation.
“I didn’t just want to come in as a tourist. I wanted to live here for a while and experience a student’s life and culture…Which is why I feel like the Fulbright program is all of the things that I need,” said Ahmed.
In addition to the course she takes, Ahmed also audits a history and Politics and Government class.
Despite her positive attitude and willingness to submerge herself in a new culture, Ahmed admits that at times it is hard.
“It’s pretty hard coming in as a person not from the U.S. There’s a lot of cultures that I’m not familiar [with] so talking to people and establishing relationships has been pretty complicated for me.”
Experiencing this alone has been difficult for Ahmed, but she believes the experience will be worthwhile.
“One of the reasons that I wanted to come here, was to put myself in an uncomfortable and new position because it’s good for your personal development…It’s not easy but I’m enjoying every part of it,” said Ahmed.
Megan Daniels is a Canadian archaeologist from Ontario, who graduated from a smaller university in Canada before earning her Ph.D. from Stanford University. During her years as an undergrad she worked for the Canadian Government as a cooperative education student.
Her work focuses on the Greek and Roman world and she was an archaeologist for the National Parks and Native Sites.
Daniels archaeology career has been marked by her overseas work as well. She taught English in China.
What interests Daniels the most is the sharp contrast between the education she received as an undergrad and the liberal arts education provided at institutions such as Puget Sound.
“I started off majoring in archaeology from day one, which is quite different than what students at liberal arts colleges do. They tend to have a much broader based education,” said Daniels.
Daniels was inspired by liberal arts education and the idea of a “well-rounded and wholesome” instruction.
This was a major factor in her deciding to work here as well as her love for the west coast and the beauty of the campus.
Daniels teaches two courses here including Intro to Medieval Archaeology as well as The Archeology in Power.
Daniels was motivated to teach because she wanted to instruct in the different disciplines of archeology including economics, politics, and religion.
Daniels enjoys looking at the “big picture” and how history connects.
“Archeology is very much a total science,” said Daniels.
During her short time here, Daniels decided to put together a symposium that engaged archaeologists in a discussion of how the instruction of archeology can “ better engage with indigenous values and practices through community-based projects and classroom pedagogy,” said Daniels.
The event coincided with Indigenous Peoples Day and International Archaeology Day, and featured panels to discuss issues .She stated the Classics department was very supportive.
Lily Lin has already returned to her home, Tacoma’s sister city, Fuzhou, China where she is an English teacher. While she was here, she was amazed by the differences in American and Chinese teaching styles.
“I really appreciate your moodle. I [learned] a lot,” said Lin.
Of the various classes she sat in on, her favorite was the Political Economy of China class taught by Professor Karl Field.
“I [shared] my ideas about my interpretation of the middle class in China with the students. It is my great experience to share opinions with these sinologists,” said Lin.
Professor Field has agreed to take some students to visit Fuzhou next year.
Lin spent much of her time in the library and was impressed with how convenient it was to scan and print for her research.
Overall, Lin was very happy with her time spent here.
“ I express my great gratitude to the Trimble Family and Trimble Foundation and of course the University of Puget Sound. Without your support, I cannot be here. This is the first time for me to visit the States. A great chance for me to understand the country, which is different from the textbook. It will promote better communication between China and the United States,” said Lin.
Sarah Makeschin serves as the chair of American Culture and Media Studies at University of Passau in Germany.
During her stay she has enjoyed exploring the Tacoma area by doing activities like hiking in the Olympic Peninsula and visiting museums.
Makeschin assists in Professor Kris Imbregotta’s German class.
She also gave a talk called “Imagining a “European Century”? – Barack
Obama, Transatlantic Relations, and the Imagination of a European Self in the German Media, as well as hosted a Faculty Exchange Program info session.