July 28, 2011
The latest St. John’s graduate to receive a Fulbright Scholarship
will spend the next academic year in Macau, where she will study
the region’s blend of Chinese and Portuguese cultures while
teaching English.
Athena Loch ‘11C, an
English major and
Art History minor, was a senior when she applied for the
prestigious award in October 2010. She is one of two new graduates
to earn a Fulbright
Scholarship. Recipient Woodley Pean ‘11C will use his award to
teach, volunteer and conduct research in the Dominican Republic.
Last year,
three graduate students received Fulbrights.
When Athena received word about her award this past May, she was
surprised as well as delighted. “I worried that it was taking too
long to hear from them,” she recalled. “But the GAAP Office assured
me that some applicants don’t get a response until a bit later.”
The Graduate
Admissions Assistance Program (GAAP) helps undergraduate and
graduate students to apply for prestigious academic awards and
scholarships.
The 21-year-old Staten Island, NY, native chose to spend her
Fulbright year in Macau because the blend of Portuguese and Chinese
cultures fascinates her. The region is also close to Hong Kong,
where her parents were born. “When I saw that it was one of the
Fulbright destinations,” she said, “I thought it would be the most
interesting location for me.”
A graduate of Susan E. Wagner High School on Staten Island,
Athena said she chose St. John’s for two reasons. “I knew St.
John’s offers a lot of opportunities to its students,” she said.
“And I liked the fact that I could go to school in New York
City, live in beautiful residence halls
and still be close to home.”
As an English major, Athena enjoyed studying with outstanding
scholars such as
Dohra Ahmad, Ph.D., Associate Professor;
Kathleen Lubey, Ph.D., and
Amy King, Ph.D., Associate Professor, who was Athena’s mentor
in the University’s
Learning Communities Program, which fosters strong connections
between faculty advisors and freshmen. In Art History, Athena
counts Professor Laurence Waldron, M.F.A., among her most inspiring
instructors.
Athena distinguished herself early in her St. John’s career. She
was accepted into
Phi Eta Sigma, the national honor society for outstanding
freshmen. She went on to serve as a copy editor on The Torch, the
weekly student newspaper, and an assistant editor of Sequoia, the
literary magazine. “Whatever you want to do,” she said, “there’s a
place for you to do something wonderful at St. John’s.”