Matthew Kendrick '14 Receives Fulbright Grant

Matthew Kendrick ’14 is an honors candidate and double major in East Asian studies and history. He has been awarded a 10-month Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in South Korea.

Kendrick spent his youth on two different continents, including two different areas of Chile and a homestay in Kunming, China. In 2012, he spent his summer in Shanghai, and fall and spring semester in Harbin, China. His family currently resides in Colorado. Kendrick says he anticipates that he will be placed in a rural area of South Korea, and he hopes to visit several historic sites.

“Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, and still contains many interesting monasteries and shrines. Hansan Island was an important base for the Korean navy during the Imjin War, and I would love to sail around the area. Finally, I'd like to go skiing at Pyeongchang, where the 2018 Winter Olympics will be held,” says Kendrick, who is president of the Oberlin College men’s rugby team and was previously a member of the Club Sports Committee. He is also co-chair of the Student Honor Committee.

After his Fulbright year, Kendrick intends to apply to graduate school for history. “I’m grateful and honored to represent Oberlin and the United States abroad. I’m excited to work in a school system with a reputation as high as South Korea's, and to participate in cultural exchange with Korea's youth.”