Galiatsos '12 Awarded Fulbright Grant to Conduct Research in Luxembourg

Caroline Galiatsos '12, an English major from West Springfield, Mass., has received a Fulbright grant to travel to Luxembourg in September. She will research how civic education among schools in the country impacts students' perceptions of their multicultural and multilingual identities, which in turn influences their concepts of citizenship.

Luxembourg is a blend of French and German cultures and is rich in linguistic diversity, explains Galiatsos. Primary school is typically taught in Luxembourgish, but French and German become the core languages in the higher grades with English as a required language. Through the Fulbright, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of how culture and language influence one's perception of citizenship.

For Galiatsos, the Fulbright grant bridges three defining experiences the College Honors Program student had at Holy Cross. She traveled to Luxembourg through a May term in 2010, took French courses every year at Holy Cross, and wrote her honors thesis on civic education.

"I'm excited to have the opportunity to apply what I've learned over the past four years to the work I'll be doing next year in Luxembourg as well as to gain further understanding of Luxembourg's culture and education system," she says.

In addition to conducting research, Galiatsos will take graduate courses in educational studies at the University of Luxembourg and plans to tutor English. She also hopes to strengthen her French language skills, study Luxembourgish, and learn more about the Luxembourg community.

Upon returning to the U.S., she plans to attend law school and pursue a career in educational policy or public policy.

At Holy Cross, Galiatsos was in the Phi Beta Kappa national academic honor society and Sigma Tau Delta international English honor society. She participated in the Washington Semester Program and Student Programs for Urban Development, in which she volunteered at Vernon Hill Elementary School in Worcester. In addition, she was a co-chair of the English Student Advisory Committee, tutor in the Writer's Workshop and a Dana Scholar, an honor given to students of outstanding academic ability, strong character and leadership.

Each year approximately 1,000 college students are awarded grants through the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship program in international educational exchange. Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Since the program’s inception in 1946, more than 300,000 participants — chosen for their leadership potential — have had the opportunity to observe each other’s political, economic and cultural institutions.

Read about this year’s other Holy Cross Fulbright grant recipients: Joseph Cavanaugh ’12, Mattea Cumoletti ’12, Daniel Geiger ’11, Eliza Gettel ’12, Heidi Grek ’12, Maria Jaroszewicz ’12, Jaeyeon Lee ’12, Courtney Lesoon ’12, George Matthews ’12 and Peter Renehan ’12.