“English is their second language so they might show me a thing or two,” Hatch said. “I’ll also be using my strengths in cellular and molecular biology to teach math and science.
Hatch was urged to apply for the scholarship by a friend, and despite considering himself a long shot, he has been accepted to the program and will spend seven to 10 months abroad beginning in January 2010.
“My application drew a lot from my experiences at Humboldt. I’ve been part of the Pre-Med Club, South Asian Alliance Club, Global Connections; I was on the lacrosse team, the cycling team, the list just kind of goes on,” Hatch said. “This whole process has shown me that if you want something bad enough, you go out and get it.”
Hatch has been active in civic pursuits both on campus and in the community during his time at Humboldt State. He has served as a campus Social Justice Summit co-coordinator, an HIV counselor/tester volunteer at Six Rivers Planned Parenthood and as coordinator of the Farmer’s Market Food Aid Project, an effort designed to help Humboldt County families stricken by HIV/AIDS. “We gathered donations from almost every farmer at the market, and often it was stuff they could still sell. It just showed how much the community cares. And we could give to families who needed a little help.”
Looking ahead to his departure, Hatch is finalizing travel plans and coordinating with the Fulbright Program for his final assignments. Besides sharing his skills with Malaysian students, Hatch hopes to get something out of his journey for himself.
“I hope to gain a lot of personal growth—to be completely secluded from what’s natural to me. I really just want be a part of a culture that I don’t know anything about. I’ve become so accustomed to this culture, I want to experience something new.”
Founded in 1946 to encourage international educational and cultural exchange, Fulbright Scholarships are named after the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, a multilateralist who backed creation of the United Nations in 1945. He was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1959 to 1974, the longest period in the panel’s history.
Fulbright awards total $262 million annually and are provided to U.S. students, teachers and professionals to work in 155 countries. Past recipients include 37 Nobel Prize winners, as well as heads of state and university presidents, among many others.
Humboldt State will host its annual Fulbright Day on Wednesday, April 15, providing information to students and faculty about grant opportunities and including a free public presentation, “New Ways of Thinking: Non-Objectual Arts in Mexico 1977-1983,” by Mexican artist and Fulbright Scholar Maris Bustamante.
The informational panel, including Hatch, is scheduled from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Room 162 of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Building. The Bustamante presentation will follow at 2 p.m. in the same location.
A Fulbright scholar-in-residence at San Francisco State University, Bustamante is professor emerita at Universidad Autonoma Metropolitan-Azcapotzaclo and a widely-published author. Over the years, she has accumulated more than 21 solo exhibitions, participated in more than 400 group shows and presented more than 250 performances and exhibitions.
For more information, contact Kathleen Doty at Kathleen.doty@humboldt.edu.