(Posted May 23, 2016)

Erin Netoskie, a 2016 Juniata graduate, from Mt. Lebanon, Pa.
Erin Netoskie, a 2016 Juniata graduate, from Mt. Lebanon, Pa.

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Erin Netoskie, a senior studying wildlife conservation and German at Juniata College from Mt. Lebanon, Pa., has been named a Fulbright Fellow to teach English and conduct research at Tiergarten Schönbrunn, the world's oldest zoo in Vienna, Austria, for the upcoming 2016-2017 academic year.

She is a 2012 graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School.

Netoskie, the daughter of Cynthia Netoskie, of Mt. Lebanon, and Chris Netoskie, of New Kensington, Pa., will teach English at a high school in Vienna. At Tiergarten Schönbrunn, she will work with researchers to study how frogs native to Borneo use toes and legs to communicate.

Netoskie has noteworthy international experience during her Juniata career. During the 2013 summer after her freshman year, she spent a month at a language institute in Münster, Germany.

She also studied abroad for the 2014-2015 academic year, spending a semester at the Philipps-Universität Marburg, in Germany and spending the spring semester working at an internship as a zookeeper at the Kölner Zoo in Cologne, Germany.

"The faculty support I received from Jim Tuten, (professor of history) and others on the Fulbright committee is one for which I am truly grateful."

Erin Netoskie '16

In addition, Netoskie also traveled throughout the southwest and western United States in summer 2013 while enrolled in Juniata's Remote Field Course. She also worked as a summer Flitezone bird show and conservation education intern at Pittsburgh's National Aviary during the summers of 2014 and 2015.

Netoskie is a member of the German Club and Juniata's Christian Fellowship student club.

"The Fulbright application asks you to research and find your own collaborative project, so the process of receiving the Fulbright was both overwhelming and a blessing," Netoskie says. "It was a great experience that has helped me with grant-writing skills and interviewing. The faculty support I received from Jim Tuten, (professor of history) and others on the Fulbright committee is one for which I am truly grateful."

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program equips future American leaders with the skills they need to thrive in increasingly global environment by providing funding for one academic year of study, language instruction or research abroad, to be conducted after graduation from an accredited university.

Fellows undertake self-designed programs in disciplines ranging from social sciences, business, communication, and performing arts to physical sciences, engineering, and education.

The U.S. Student Program awards approximately 1,100 grants annually and currently operates in over 140 countries worldwide. The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Financial support is provided by an annual appropriation from Congress to the Department of State, with significant contributions from participating governments and host institutions in the United States and abroad.

The presidentially appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board formulates policy guidelines and makes the final selection of all grantees. The Institute of International Education administers and coordinates the activities relevant to the U.S. Student Program, including an annual competition for the scholarships. The Fulbright Program also awards grants to American teachers and faculty to do research, lecture, and teach overseas. In addition, some 2,200 foreign Fulbright students and scholars come to the United States annually to study, carry out research and lecture at U.S. universities, colleges and secondary schools.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.