Marla Kozlak, an English for Speakers of Other Languages teacher at Bel Air Elementary School in Woodbridge, has been selected as a scholarship recipient of the U.S. Department of Education’s 2009 Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program. The program’s focus is to show how geography, climate, history and culture affect society by looking at the differences between land-locked Mongolia and the isolated island nation of New Zealand in the South Pacific. A total of 16 elementary educators from across the United States will participate in the program, which runs from July 13 to Aug. 21.
How and when did you find out? Was this something you were looking to do for a while?
I found out at the end of last year through our school newsletter. I’ve spent a lot of my life traveling abroad.
Have you ever traveled extensively before?
I spent time in Hungary in the Peace Corps after studying abroad there. I also used to work for a university in South Africa. I went to Japan on a Fulbright scholarship as a teacher as well. It was more of a chance to visit elementary, middle, high schools and colleges. There were almost 100 teachers who went, but it was a shorter amount of time.
What are you hoping to accomplish from the trip?
As an ESOL teacher, I don’t have many students from Mongolia, but it does always help to have experiences outside your comfort zone. Going to New Zealand will be very interesting — immigration has been increasing exponentially there in the past few decades, and I’ll be looking to see how the government is dealing with the immigration boom.
Are you planning to travel anywhere else either immediately before or immediately after the program?
We get two days in Hawaii before we leave. It’s very structured — we leave at 6 in the morning from D.C. I really recommend that teachers explore these kinds of options — it really adds to your teaching back home.
