Class of 1999 Tucker Foundation Fellowship: 2008-2009

The Class of 1999 Tucker Fellow for 2009 is Monica Balanoff '11
Major: Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
Spring 2009

The Iraqi Student Project
Damascus, Syria

Through her fellowship, Monica will be working to help Iraqi students living in Syria as refugees from Iraq, gain opportunities to study at American Universities. She will be working with students on honing their English skills and preparing them for the Test of English as a Foreign Language Exam. Specifically, she will also be helping them with the college admittance process and working with them on visa applications, tuition waiver forms, and creating support groups for them once they are in America.

Monica's previous experience teaching English abroad in Bolivia will aid her in conducting mock interview sessions and leading writing workshops with students. Monica also has also acted as an assistant teacher in a Chicago School where she worked with students with learning and language developmental disorders. Monica has also studied Arabic, and she taught an Arabic drill class. Her prior knowledge of Arabic will benefit her in Damascus.

Her strength in language and in teaching language effectively and independently will help Monica to succeed in this project. Her value of education "as a right, not a privilege" demonstrates her ability to work with the Iraqi Student Project to "correct injustice in educational opportunities". Additionally, Monica's strong organizational skills will help guide students through the college admissions process, along with enhancing her academic interest in the Middle Eastern Studies, "giving me a more personal view of one part of the Middle East". The Iraqi Student Project also provides mentors in the U.S. once a student has been accepted at an American University and they strongly review applicants for their commitment to return back to the Middle East (specifically Iraq) to help rebuild the country.

Monica also hopes that through working with this organization she will help to break down stereotypes in the United States of Iraqi students, "Often people have a mistaken image of Iraqi's as terrorists and highly conservative people, due to the images seen on the media."