By Megan Z. Shearin | May 30, 2010
Sitting outside on the sidewalk in Berlin, Germany, Elizabeth Maxwell ’10 was distressed when she called home to her parents, Gary and Becky.
Earlier in the week, Maxwell had learned that her trip was being cut short due to issues with her visa. She was scheduled to fly back to the United States the very next day, and had accidently locked herself out of her apartment.
“I called my parents crying,” recalled Maxwell. “And then my dad got on the phone and said, ‘but wait, you got a Fulbright Award!’”
“At that point, I stopped crying and started screaming,” said Maxwell, recipient of an English Teaching Assistantship. She will work with students between the ages of 12 and 18 in Berlin, Germany, from September 2010 – June 2011.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program and offers the opportunity for students to participate in international graduate study, research or teaching within universities, elementary and secondary schools worldwide. Maxwell is one of over 1,500 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2010-2011 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
Maxwell, who graduated in May with a double major in German and International Studies and magna cum laude honors, was a distinguished student on the Virginia Wesleyan campus. Recipient of a grant through the Woodenfish Program, Maxwell participated in a month-long trip to Taiwan to study Buddhism over the summer of 2009. During the 2007-08 academic year, she participated in an exchange with Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, through Virginia Wesleyan’s Office of International and Intercultural Programs. She is the founding president of the College’s Amnesty International Club; received the International Studies Award at the Spring Honors Convocation; was a member of the Honors & Scholars Program, Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership society, Delta Phi Alpha German honor society, Order of Omega Greek leadership honor society and Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority; and was the secretary of STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur). “President Greer told me all about the College and personally wrote Elizabeth a hand-penned letter introducing her to Virginia Wesleyan. It was perfect. She connected with every professor and every student and I’m very pleased with her experience and education at Virginia Wesleyan.” - Becky Maxwell
“If you work really hard in college, you really can get what you want in life,” said Maxwell, who has also been accepted into graduate school at the London School of Economics. She plans to attend after completing her Fulbright Scholarship.
Originally from The Woodlands, Texas, Maxwell discovered Virginia Wesleyan after her mother, Becky, sat next to President Dr. Billy Greer at a wedding reception in Texas.
“President Greer told me all about the College and personally wrote Elizabeth a hand-penned letter introducing her to Virginia Wesleyan,” said Becky. “It was perfect. She connected with every professor and every student and I’m very pleased with her experience and education at Virginia Wesleyan.”
After completing her teaching assistantship and graduate school, Maxwell hopes to work for Transparency International, an international non-governmental organization fighting corruption. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling and hiking.