The Kitchen Cabinet will be hosting a reception to congratulate the recipients of the 2013 Sustainability and Health Partnership Education Grant, which allowed funding to its winners for various service projects.  The receptions will also allow these students a chance to present and share their projects with those in attendance.

Junior English Major Rebecca Hare, Co-President of the Gustavus Greens,regularly updates the Kitchen Cabinet on Greens activities that are connected to food and sustainability. When the Dining Service considers changes to its menu, Hare also provides her voice to consider an environmentally conscious perspective.

“The Kitchen Cabinet is an advisory board to the Dining Services that meets once a month to discuss what often goes untalked about in discussions of buying, selling, and consumption. Our discussions focus on the morality and sustainability aspects of the food the Caf purchases and serves to students. There are representatives from the all around campus,” Hare said.

The event will be held Friday, April 26 at 2:30 p.m. in the Heritage Banquet Room, and all are welcome.

Fulbright Scholars

In addition to the Coca-Cola Grant Recipients, Seniors Ally Voss and Joey Taylor have each been awarded Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Grants while Senior Sarah Lucht has been awarded the Fulbright Reasearch Grant.

The Fulbright Program is an international exchange program sponsored by the United States government, created in order to promote the mutual understanding between United States citizens and people abroad. It allows scholars and students to study abroad in order to conduct research and engage the community they will be visiting.

Voss, a Spanish and Sociology and Anthropology double major,  has been placed as a high school English Teaching Assistant in northern Spain. The majority of her time there will be spent working with Spanish students in a classroom, but she will also be focusing on a civic engagement project outside the classroom.

“The Fulbright to Spain works perfectly into my plans because upon my return to the U.S. I will be moving to Houston, TX to work for Teach for America as a bilingual educator. Having access to Spanish culture and being able to immerse myself more deeply in the language can only help my teaching and ultimately my future students,” Voss said.

“I would like to thank so many professors, coaches and mentors here at Gustavus who have encouraged me and influenced my path! Two of the professors who have most affected me include Professor Rosenthal and Professor Kalbermatten. Both of these women have given so much of their time, talents and energy to guide me and help me determine what my passions are and where I want to go after I leave Gustavus. I will definitely strive to follow their examples and be the kind of instructors that they are on a daily basis for all of their students,” Voss said.

Taylor, a Russian Studies and Political Science double major, will be sent to Russia to teach either conversational English or medical terminology at a university.

“The goal of the program is to provide universities and colleges with native speakers of English. These institutions are located in areas that traditionally don’t attract many non-native speakers, specifically Americans. As an ETA, my job will be to teach as well as act as a resource in terms of American culture and life. I will be responsible for connecting with my community,” Taylor said.

“I want to move back to Russia for the long term and the Fulbright definitely helps me with that. The grant is for one year, so after I’m finished with teaching in the town where I am sent, I plan to move back to St. Petersburg (I studied there last year) and continue teaching English while exploring other options such as interpreting/translating and working with foreign students who are studying abroad,” Taylor said.

Lucht, a  Chemistry and Biochem and Molecular Biology double major, will use her Fulbright Research Grant to travel to Iceland to work with Dr. Eyfjörd at the University of Iceland on research in genetic mutations, cancer prognosis, DNA replication, and other various subject matter.

“I have known for a long time that I want to live abroad and the Fulbright is the perfect opportunity to combine my academic aspirations with my love for travel. I am very excited about getting the grant, though to be completely honest the idea of finding housing, getting a residence permit, and figuring out a foreign country is a bit intimidating at the moment! It should be a wonderful learning experience,” Lucht said.

Lucht plans to attend the Harvard School of Public Health for a Masters in Epidemiology focusing on Cancer Epidemiology in Fall 2014.