By: Melody Wallace
At age 22, Kendall Quisenberry has accomplished more than most of us have ever imagined. She is a senior at DePauw University, a Fulbright Scholar, and is about to embark on a teaching venture to her seventh country via an English Teaching Assistantship.
As a little girl, Kendall dreamt of being a writer, authoring books each Christmas for her mother, usually styled after the adventures of The Boxcar Children. In high school, Kendall was again reminded how much she loved writing by her teacher, Angela Gunter. That rekindled love would serve her well as an English writing major at DePauw, a tutor at the campus writing center, as well as a contributing writer for the school newspaper. Last year she was afforded the opportunity to teach English to fourth grade students in Taiwan. This latest venture would eventually inspire her to apply for and pursue the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. The Fulbright Program is a U.S. government sponsored international educational program that was established in 1946 and assists students wanting to travel abroad with travel expenses and tuition costs. The Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) places U.S. students in other countries in a two-fold effort to educate and enhance foreign students in their English speaking skills and knowledge of the U.S., while also increasing the awarded student’s knowledge of the language and culture of their host country.
Kendall, the second oldest of four incredibly motivated children, attributes most of her success to her parents, Tab and Vicki Quisenberry, whose high expectations have helped pave the road of success for their children. “Yes, they have high expectations…but they don’t have the same expectations for all of us,” Kendall said. “My parents have always pushed me to do whatever I want to do and be good at it.” Kendall says that her parents were a big influence on me going to DePauw. At first Kendall had her sights on Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana; but, at her mother’s urging, they made a visit to DePauw University, a liberal arts college located in Greencastle, Indiana. Kendall recalls of the visit, “I immediately fell in love with it.” The positive draws for Kendall being the liberal arts aspect of the college and the opportunity to continue swimming. The other aspect that appealed to Kendall was the fact that DePauw promotes students to travel abroad. Kendall first fell in love with traveling in high school when she traveled to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip with First Christian Church in Owensboro. Kendall has gone out of the country every year since, visiting Ghana, Haiti, Nicaragua, Taiwan, and even Paris. “My parents have been very supportive in letting me do all of these crazy things…[and letting me] find my passions.”
After speaking with a friend at college that was a Fulbright recipient, Kendall became very intrigued and began attending informational meetings, and then started the application process without any expectation to get it. Kendall felt that the experience of writing personal and grant essays alone was good practice. She initially thought that she would like to apply for the ETA in Africa, yet after her visit to Taiwan she realized her love for Asia. She then thought it best to apply for the assistantship in Malaysia. According to her essay application, “With an ETA in Malaysia, my goal is to teach students the value of language and its relationship to culture.” In order to achieve this goal Kendall will be able to draw from her experiences last year in Taiwan. The students that she was assigned to teach spoke various levels of English, and, unknowingly, there was no Taiwanese teacher to assist. After trying several ideas and “asking simple get-to-know-you questions with little success,” Kendall did what any good teacher would do and realized that she had to “find a way to make learning exciting.” The next day she came prepared with her laptop and made a connection with her students through the transcending lyrics of Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. “I wouldn’t say that the language barrier is that big of a deal, you just have to find a way to relate to them.” This state of mind should serve Kendall well in Malaysia, and she is excited about every aspect of it. While personally she hopes to get to experience a variety of different cultures, she also would like to make an impact on someone’s life and help them have a passion for writing.”
Safe travels, Kendall, as you allow your passions to guide you on the road to success.