In locales as far-flung as Oman, Portugal, Turkey, and Bahrain, the Class of 2010 members are engaged in everything from promoting sustainable eco-tourism to studying transportation logistics to serving as English teaching assistants.
Robyn Byrne, Oman
As with Ortiz, hospitality is at the heart of what Robyn Byrne is learning in Oman, another Persian Gulf state. In Muscat, the capital city, she is studying environmental standards and best practices at hotels. Her Fulbright grant is enabling her to collaborate with her faculty advisor in the Department of Tourism at Sultan Qaboos University, where she is a also a tutor in the university's Writing Center. In addition to teaching others, she studied Arabic in an intensive program in Cairo, Egypt, thanks to a Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Award.
"Gettysburg first gave me the chance to explore Oman through a semester abroad," wrote Byrne, who majored in economics and international affairs. The College then enabled her "to continue my connection through language study in a self guided Arabic language class, and with the help of so many of my professors and the Provost's office, to build a competitive application to return to Oman.
"The work I am doing now is a direct result of the excellent independent research and writing skills I received throughout my undergraduate education," Byrne continued. "The analytical skills reinforced through a liberal arts education helped me to craft an original research project which focuses on the incredible growth, modernization and development of the Gulf region- avoiding generalizations and stereotypes all too common in our discourse on the Middle East."
