Phounsith "Quincy" Yangh '21
by Peter Turek ’23
Gustavus Adolphus College senior Quincy Yangh has been named a winner of the Fulbright English Teacher Assistant (ETA) grant to Taiwan for the 2021-2022 academic year
The Fulbright’s ETA program gives recent college graduates and young professionals the opportunity to assist in teaching English in primary or secondary schools or universities internationally. ETA participants not only help improve foreign students’ grasp of the English language but also increase their own language skills and knowledge in their host country.
Yangh is very grateful to his community back home in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which was instrumental in inspiring him to help foster communities internationally.
“During my time there growing up, there were a lot of immigrant families there, and one of the things I did as a child and growing up was being a translator in my community, working with local community members and just participating in community events,” said Yangh. “That really built the foundation of how I came to understand mutual understanding and working with others, and the need to advocate for not only myself but those around me.”
Yangh started working on his application for the Fulbright award in the summer of 2020, submitting his application in October. The application consisted of multiple prompted essays as well as letters of recommendation. Yangh’s letters of recommendation were written by Gustavus geography professor Joaquin Villanueva, Patricia Owens of the School for International Training in Nepal, and Angela Burlile of the University of Washington.
After finishing his Fulbright ETA program, Yangh plans to pursue a career in public service and believes that the program will help foster practical skills and experience while also providing a network for him to more easily help succeed in that field of interest. “I believe the Fulbright experience would put me in a position where I can help people of historically underrepresented backgrounds connect to platforms of power and platforms of influence.”
“I think this is the best possible choice for Quincy right now,” Villanueva said. “Quincy embodies the spirit of good critical geographers, people who travel the world to learn how to change it. In Taiwan, Quincy will encounter an international community that will allow him to thrive intellectually and socially in ways that we can only imagine.”
Yangh, who is a Doris Duke Conservation Scholar at the University of Washington, Truman Scholarship finalist, winner of the Gilman Scholarship, and an honorable mention for the Udall Scholarship, has two pieces of advice for younger Gustavus students: “Be curious about your passions. Those passions will lead you to where you want to be. And of course, utilize your professors. None of this would be possible without my professors in the geography department.”
More information about how the Gustavus Fellowships Office supports students is available on the Gustavus website.
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Media Contact: Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Luc Hatlestad
luch@gustavus.edu
507-933-7510