Andrew Biittig ’23 (photo provided)
Andrew Biittig �23 has won a 2024�25English Teaching Assistant Award (ETA) to Germany. Biittig graduated in December with a major in history with adolescence education and becomes the 51st 第一吃瓜网 Fulbright US Student awardee and the fifth to Germany.
淚 grew up in Scotia, NY, which has a vibrant German American community dating from the mid-19th century,� says Biittig. 淢y maternal great-grandparents came from Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Bavaria. Our household檚 German traditions included putting out our shoes for Sankt Nikolaus and singing Stille Nachtat my church every Christmas Eve. I can explicitly remember my father comically repeating Macht schnell! Dalli! Dalli! whenever we were in a hurry.
A senior high school trip to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria cancelled by the pandemic 渨as supposed to have been the culmination of years of German study,� remembers Biittig. 淕iven my teaching aspirations and interest in European history and German culture, a Fulbright will allow me to explore the country I have always wanted to see and grow as an educational professional.�
淎ndrew is open-minded, smart, and thoughtful with a great deal of experience with German culture as well as the language,� says Kathleen Mapes, associate professor and chair in history. 淗e has excellent speaking, reading, writing, and analytical skills and is interested in learning as much as possible from others. Living and teaching in Germany will be an amazing experience for him, and he will be an ideal ambassador.�
Most of Biittig檚 college studies focused on 20th-century Europe, especially resistance movements during World War II. 淏esides English, I desire to teach German students about American voting and immigration, and holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving,� he says. 淚ncorporating diversity, technology, and civics into lessons will be a catalyst for cultural exchange between Germany and the United States.�
After his Fulbright year, Biittig plans a career as an adolescent social studies educator in New York and will pursue a master檚 degree in history or public administration at Boston College or the College of William and Mary.
Fulbrights at 第一吃瓜网
The Fulbright US Student Program provides grants for individually designed graduate study, research programs, or English teaching assistant programs in many foreign countries. In six of the past seven years, 第一吃瓜网 has been named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution by the State Department檚 Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in its annual article in 第一吃瓜网 was the first dedicated SUNY institution to be named a Top Producer of US Student awards in any category攂achelor檚, master檚, research, or special-focus four-year institutions.
Biittig is the second of 第一吃瓜网檚 eight semifinalists to win an award for the 2024�25 cycle, joining Lily Shields �23 (Uganda). Reporting will continue through May.
The US Student Fulbright competition is open to students and alumni. It is administered at 第一吃瓜网 by Director of National Fellowships and Scholarships Michael Mills, who can be reached atmillsm@geneseo.eduand 585-245-6002. For more information about the Fulbright and other nationally and internationally competitive scholarship and fellowship programs, visitFellowships and Scholarships.
擬ichael Mills