Skip to Content

‘Lineage of Advocacy’

Social Work Alumna Sarah Bennet to Teach in Poland Through Fulbright U.S. Student Program
Sarah Bennett
Sarah Bennett

Ten Syracuse University students/alumni have been named as 2023 recipients of awards through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

The program funds a range of awards that include English teaching assistantships (ETA) and study/research grants in over 140 countries. All of this year’s Syracuse recipients received teaching assistantships.

One of these recipients is a Falk College student, Sarah Bennett ’20, G’22, is a philosophy and psychology alumna in the College of Arts and Sciences and master’s of social work alumna in the Falk College.

Bennett will teach English at a Polish university and plans to support refugee aid initiatives. She also plans to engage with creative writing communities. “I know firsthand that poetry can offer an affirming space for cultural expression and exchange,” she says. “In Poland, I hope to join or create a space for writers to come together and share their work.”

Her time in Poland will also be personal. This year, she uncovered an autobiography written by her great-grandfather, which chronicled his life as a teacher, scholar and political activist with the General Jewish Labor Bund in his hometown of Łódź. “There has been a long lineage in my family of writing, teaching and advocacy,” she says. “I hope to follow this familiar pull as a Fulbright ETA in Poland while connecting with a culture and history I am eager to know better.”

The Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA) supports current undergraduates, graduate students and alumni in Fulbright applications. Students interested in applying to the Fulbright program should contact CFSA at 315.443.2759 or cfsa@syr.edu.

Interested students should open an application on the Fulbright portal by June 1. The campus deadline for the 2023-24 application cycle is Sept. 12.