Fulbright Scholarship gives student opportunity
to work and study below the border.

MARIELLE TEMKIN I IN INTERN

he Fulbright Scholarship is
an extremely prestigious
program, with only 8,000
awarded worldwide each
year. Marlee Seidmann, 23, of West
Bloomfield, is one of the recipients of
the Fulbright-Garcia Robles Binational
Business Grant, for which she will
travel to Mexico City for 10 months
to work with a business and take
business-related classes.
"It was a long waiting process," said
Seidmann, "but it was very exciting.
I applied in October of last year,
interviewed in January and finally in
March I heard that I had received the
scholarship."
Since graduating from Michigan
State University in December with a
degree in marketing and a minor in
Spanish, she has traveled to Esperanza
in the Dominican Republic to work with
impoverished children and also has
gone on the Taglit-Birthright Israel trip.
"I've been lucky in that I've been
able to travel a lot," Seidmann
said, "and because of my previous
experiences, I feel pretty prepared for
this. I'm comfortable traveling and
living in a new culture."
She also has experience with
working in a foreign culture because
of an internship she had in Bolivia.
"I worked with a micro finance
institution, and I had to create a
marketing plan for the region," she
said. "I was not particularly familiar
with the area, so that was a challenge
but definitely a very interesting
experience."
When she arrived in Mexico on Aug.
15, Seidmann again will be working for
a company in a foreign country; but it is
perfect for Seidmann who says she has
always wanted an international career.
"The program I was accepted
to places candidates with certain
companies in Mexico," she
explained, "and I will be working in
communication strategy with Volaris
— an airline with a Southwest Airlines
alliance.
"My past professional experience
is in marketing; but this project is
more entrepreneurial so it goes across
marketing, finance — all aspects of
business. I'm very excited that I will get
to see each aspect."
Seidmann transferred to MSU for her
junior and senior years after spending

Marlee Seidmann spent time in

the Dominican Republic working

with impoverished children.

her first two years of college at Towson
University near Baltimore.
"I went there to play Division
1 soccer as their goalkeeper, but I
realized that soccer wasn't something
I wanted to do for my whole life. I
found that MSU was a university
where I could focus on my professional
interests in addition to continuing to
play soccer," she said.
She decided to apply for a Fulbright
after meeting with MSU's Fulbright
adviser. "
While in Mexico, Seidmann will
speak almost entirely in Spanish, and
she says she is very comfortable with
the language. "To get the scholarship, I
had to interview in Spanish," she said.
"Initially, it was pretty nerve-wracking
because it was over Skype and also not
in my native language; but I grew more
comfortable with it eventually."
Joining her in Mexico City will be
12 other Fulbright recipients. "We're
from all over the country, but we've
been communicating on Facebook and
email. I'm looking forward to meeting
everyone," she said.
"I'm also really looking forward
to learning about the Jewish culture
in Mexico," she added. "Apparently,
there's a fairly large population of Jews
in Mexico City, so it will definitely be
a new and unique experience to see
how the culture of Judaism is different
there."
Seidmann's goal for her time in
Mexico is to learn as much as she
can. "Living in a different culture is
such an amazing opportunity to learn
and develop as a person and also
have some adventures and perfect my
Spanish," she said. "It's going to be an
amazing 10 months." E

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