Marlboro Student Receives Fulbright Award

Graduating senior Theresa Chockbengboun has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant for an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) for the 2015-2016 academic year. Theresa, who has studied biology at Marlboro, will be teaching English at a university in Laos while pursuing research opportunities in public health.

“I’m excited to spend an entire year in another country and to learn about their culture and unique challenges in facing the future,” said Theresa.

“As a Fulbright in Laos, Theresa will be able to apply the skills she has gained here and abroad while also connecting to her family history as a Lao-American,” said biology professor Jaime Tanner, one of Theresa’s Plan of Concentration sponsors. “I am so proud of what she has achieved and look forward to hearing about her future accomplishments.”

Theresa did her Plan of Concentration on public health in Southeast Asia, including an investigation of water quality and the use of “biosand” filters in Cambodian villages. She had many opportunities that prepared her well for this next endeavor in Laos, including participating in a faculty-led trip to Cambodia, earning a TESOL certificate, and studying abroad in Thailand with a CIEE program.

“The study I pursued at Marlboro College provides a foundation for future work in the medical field, which has been the most important aspiration in life,” said Theresa, who will be one of 49 Marlboro College students to receive their diploma on May 17, 2015. “I have hopes of becoming a health professional that is open minded, selfless, and always looking for ways to give back to the community.”