Peekskill Grad Student Awarded TaLK Scholarship from Korean Ministry of Education

Submitted by Mercy College – Mercy College today announced that Jonathan Sanchez, a graduate student in the School of Education, has been awarded a TaLK (Teach & Learn in Korea) Scholarship by the National Institute for International Education Development from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology of Korea.  The prestigious scholarship recognizes and sponsors individuals interested in gaining personal and professional enrichment through teaching and learning in Korea.

With the scholarship award, Sanchez—who was mentored by Mercy College School of Liberal Arts Dean Miriam S. Gogol and its Fulbright Faculty Advisory Board—will spend six months in Seoul, Korea teaching English in after-school classes of Korean elementary schools.  While abroad he will also have the opportunity to experience and learn about Korean culture.

“We are so happy that Jonathan has been awarded a TaLK Scholarship to Korea,” said Dean Gogol.  “Jonathan is one of our most exceptional candidates—both a serious academician of education and an outgoing athletic personality. He will make an outstanding ambassador of the United States while in Korea.”

Sanchez, who achieved a 3.9 GPA while simultaneously working a forty-hour work week, is receiving a Master’s Degree in Education, including a dual certification in Social Studies and Special Education with an extension in Teaching English as a Second Language.   Upon returning from Korea he looks forward to furthering his dream of a job as a high school principal and will likely also pursue a PhD.

Since January 2010, Jonathan has been a vocational instructor at the National Institute for People with Disabilities—incorporating teaching methodologies and philosophies learned in graduate school.  Ever since he was young, Jonathan has always had a passion for teaching, in fact, while a middle school student, he taught his mother how to speak English.

The scholarship was made possible through a partnership with the National Institute for International Education Development and the Korean Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology.  The TaLK (Teach & Learn in Korea) program invites adventurous global leaders to teach English to students and to experience and learn about Korean culture.  Recipients are placed at schools in rural areas in need of greater exposure to English and teach the language by forming one-on-one working relationships with Korean university TaLK Scholars.