Fulbright recipients 2013: Hakimah Abdul-Fattah

An anthropology major and French minor, Hakimah Abdul-Fattah ’13 of Holland, Pa., received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for work in France.

Abdul-Fattah has taught U.S. history to new Americans in New Jersey, worked with English language learners in Lewiston, Maine, and taught English in Senegal, where she spent 11 months in a study-abroad program through CIEE.

“My travels in countries linked to France have influenced my interest in learning more about French speakers,” she says. “The English Teaching Assistantship in France will allow me to explore language-learning with cultural context in mind — I’d like to consider the cultures connected to the English language as well as the backgrounds of learners of the language.”

Upon her return, she says, “I will study anthropology in graduate school, with a focus on the politics of representation and on platforms for cross-cultural exchange. I plan to work in visual arts, with a long-term goal of joining an organization or NGO in West Africa where I can link academics to grassroots leadership.”