What I hope to take away from the experience is that I can take my career and academics internationally. I don’t have to limit myself to America.
Brittany Christian, ’20, is a world traveler, and she credits Bridgewater State University with broadening her horizons – academically and geographically.
With a year in England and shorter trips to Cambodia and Belize under her belt, Brittany is now spending a semester in Toronto thanks to the prestigious Killam Fellowships Program. Each year the program, administered by Fulbright Canada, funds student exchanges, sending a small group of exceptional American undergraduates to Canada and Canadian undergraduates to the U.S.
“What I hope to take away from the experience is that I can take my career and academics internationally. I don’t have to limit myself to America,” said Brittany, a political science major who is studying the subject at York University this fall. “I’m excited to learn the Canadian perspective on some of the pressing issues the globe is facing today.”
Fellows also visit the Canadian capital of Ottawa for orientation and travel to Washington, D.C., for a post-study abroad seminar. BSU is one of 15 American universities associated with the fellowship.
Brittany learned about the opportunity from the Department of Political Science. She praises the university and its Study Abroad Office for promoting a global education and opportunities to travel.
“It definitely would have been much harder to find these opportunities on my own,” she said.
Brittany, who grew up in Boston and lives in Brockton, has also excelled at home, working for state Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, D-Boston, and federal courts in Massachusetts.
Brittany hopes to become a civil rights attorney, a career that will blend her interest in political science and passion for righting injustices. Initially an English major, Brittany found her love for her eventual field of study during an American government course her freshman year.
“I’m grateful for all of the political science-type opportunities,” she said. “I feel like this fellowship is topping it off.”
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