IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Winter 2018 | Page 62

Why Learn a Foreign
Language?
You Might Win a
Fulbright Scholarship!
Victoria Healy is a 2013
graduate of Brentwood High
School. As a high school
student, she fell in love with
the German language and
became a passionate student
of this foreign language. In
Victoria’s senior year, she
hosted students from Germany
who stayed in Brentwood, and
they hosted Victoria in the
same summer. Victoria could
not say enough about her time
at Brentwood High School and
Mrs. Hebestreit, better known
as “Frau,” who is the middle/high school German teacher. Her
time at Brentwood High School grew her love of the German
language and German culture.
Upon graduation, Victoria attended Duquesne University for
two years, and then transferred to Washington and Jefferson
College. While she was at Washington and Jefferson College,
she attended Ludwig Maximillian University in Munich, Germany
as part of a study abroad program. She spent thirteen months
there and all her instruction was in German. She majored
in German and International Business where she earned her
Bachelor of Arts degree in May of 2018. A German professor
at the college suggested that Victoria apply for the Fulbright
Scholarship.
J. William Fulbright was an American politician in the 20th
Century and his career in politics lasted over thirty years. He was
regarded for his contribution to international affairs and was
the longest serving chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee. J. William Fulbright had profound influence on
America’s foreign policy. The Fulbright Scholarship, which is
named in his honor, is a competitive grant that roughly 1,600
students a year qualify for in the United States. This grant has a
difficult application process and is very exclusive to those who
are rewarded with a grant.
Victoria won the grant and will be using it to teach English at
two different high schools in Nuremburg, Germany. She will be
teaching from August through June of 2019. She will be sharing
her knowledge of English with these high school students
as well as what life is like in Western Pennsylvania, especially
Brentwood. Victoria was excited to have won the Fulbright
Scholarship and anxious to get started on the next leg of her
journey. When she was asked if she had any advice for current
Brentwood students she responded by saying, “Add a foreign
language to whatever you study, or whatever degree you are
working towards. Having a second language is a competitive
edge in today’s global market.” This is certainly great advice and
we wish Victoria the best on her use of the Fulbright Scholarship.
60
BRENTWOOD-BALDWIN-WHITEHALL
Brentwood students get
the opportunity to view
an open heart surgery
By Ashley Klein, 11th grade student
It wasn’t your typical field trip. Instead of waiting for a docent
in a museum or a professor on campus, students arrived at the
Allegheny General Hospital (AGH), and waited while the patient
was prepped properly for surgery. The students were escorted
to observation room which contained benches encompassed
by the glass dome to observe the surgeon operate.
The field trip organized by Mrs. Maureen Anderson,
the district’s gifted education teacher, enabled students
interested in pursuing a career in the medical field to the AGH
Cardiovascular Institute watch the open-heart surgery.
Lindsey Hollabaugh, Assistant Coordinator of the Open Heart
Observation Program at Allegheny General Hospital, acted as
the students’ guide for the day, explaining in detail the steps of
the procedure, tools used, and the medical background and job
description of all of the people in the operating room.
“It’s really important to figure out what you want to do after
high school. For high school students, this experience can
be monumental in helping to reach the decision that, Yeah, I
definitely want to be in the medical field. I love this, or it can
be No way, I thought it was going to be like this, but I ended
up hating it. I hate the blood I don’t want to do this,” said
Hollabaugh.
“I think that it is beneficial to give the students information
so they can understand the process a little better. And also,
it’s good because they learn that it’s not what it’s like on TV.
It’s very controlled and things tend to go really well and its
definitely not like an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. I think it’s
good for students to see that it’s just normal everyday life for
the surgeon,” said Hollabaugh.
Students were able to ask questions and get to know about
everything that happens during a real surgery, from the
positions of the staff in the room to the recovery time after the
surgery.
“It was everything I expected and more. While looking
through the observation dome, countless medical instruments
and machines were visible. I never imagined that many
implements would be used in a surgery like this,” said Junior
Aiden Hoffman.