A third Nebraska Wesleyan University student has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.
Cassie Criner of Beatrice will spend the next year in Germany where she will teach English.
German has always been an important part of Criner’s life, she said.
“My grandmother was the last one to be able to speak German as her native language,” she said. “It’s a language that I wanted to learn for a long time.”
Criner studied German at Nebraska Wesleyan, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in May. As an NWU student she studied abroad in Berlin, Germany and Vichy, France. While in Berlin she met several Japanese students and eventually returned to NWU where she decided to minor in Japanese.
Criner hopes her year in Germany is only the beginning. She plans to receive certification that allows her the opportunity to continue teaching English as a foreign language.
The Institute of International Education has consistently recognized NWU as one of the top national producers of Fulbright scholars. In April, two other Nebraska Wesleyan University students were awarded Fulbright Scholarships. Eric Jackson of Lincoln will spend the next year in the country of Georgia; Grant Nordby of Stanton will spend the next year in Taiwan.