Winnetka native Jessica Durning, a 21-year-old senior at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, just received a U.S. Fulbright Student Program grant that will send her later this year to Thailand. There, she’ll spend 11 months teaching English.
Q: What’s your Winnetka background?
A: I moved to Winnetka when I was two months old. I went to Hubbard Woods School, I went to The Skokie (School), went to (Carlton) Washburne (School); I have very fond memories of Winnetka.
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Q: Where will you be teaching in Thailand?
A: I don’t know. There is a group of about 23 of us, and we’ll spend the first month in Bangkok learning conversational Thai. We’ll move to another part of the country after that.
Q: Why did you choose Thailand as destination?
A: I went to Australia when I was in high school, and I went to Amsterdam last fall. I realized I loved to travel, and that Amsterdam was a great academic experience, but when I started applying for the Fulbright, I wanted to try for something that is almost the exact opposite of what I’m familiar (with), someplace where English is not spoken. Thailand was as far as I can push it at this time in my life.
Q: Why are you looking at music as a teaching tool?
A: I’ve always played an instrument. I played the violin since I was four and picked up viola when I entered New Trier (Township High School). When I got to college, I joined an a cappella singing group, so music has been a huge part of my college experience. I learned that I like to teach through music … I’m hoping to engage with my students; I’m interested to see what songs they listen to.
Q: You are an American studies and human development major. What led you to those fields?
A: I like history, and I tell people that American studies is a little bit like that. I say it’s not so much the “who” and “what” in history, but the “how” and the “why.” American studies changed the way I think and look at the world.
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago.
–Kathy Routliffe, Pioneer Press
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy