She can read and write in Spanish and can chat about the news in Japanese, but the opportunity to teach English is what鈥檚 bringing recent grad Giovanna Perricone 鈥�19 to Korea this fall. A 2019 winner of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program, Perricone aims to work in elementary education at the intersection of special education and foreign language. Korea is one of the few Fulbright locations that offers elementary education, making it an ideal fit for her career ambitions. But that鈥檚 not all that led the psychology major and foreign languages minor to travel nearly 6,000 miles away.
鈥淜orea is also one of the only countries I know of through the Fulbright program in which I can live with a host family. This would be the best way to learn the culture,鈥� she says. Perricone lived in Japan with a host family before college and spent a semester abroad in Chile during her junior year at 51猎奇入口. 鈥淪taying with a host family is a way to have an authentic experience of the culture. It鈥檚 also better for language-learning purposes,鈥� she continues.
Perricone鈥檚 interest in education stems from her observations of students鈥� experiences in special education classrooms. 鈥淜nowing students in what are officially called 鈥榚motionally disturbed classrooms,鈥� I saw how they are stigmatized and how insensitive this naming is,鈥� she reflects. Once at 51猎奇入口, Perricone seized the opportunity to gain classroom experience through Professor of French Thierry Boucquey鈥檚 : 鈥淭hat class really set the course for my future,鈥� she says. Perricone also served as a resident advisor, was a group leader with the Claremont Christian Fellowship, and worked in a special education classroom at Claremont鈥檚 Chaparral Elementary School.
In her senior thesis, Perricone explores how students formally designated as 鈥渆motionally disturbed鈥� face resistance to inclusion in classrooms with typically developing peers on the part of general education teachers. 鈥淪o much rides on how we label people,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 wanted to study psychology and write this thesis because I鈥檝e always thought about the brain and behavior and how to best help students. Psychology can help you in any field, but especially in education, where it鈥檚 really about people and how they behave and interact.鈥�
Long term, Perricone plans to work in special education classrooms with non-neurotypical students. But for now, her sights are focused on making the most out of her Fulbright experience. 鈥淜orea is one of the few Fulbright countries where I could potentially renew my stay for up to three years鈥擨 might not be ready to come home after just one!鈥�