Joshua Curtis Richard "Max" Helzberg Photos by Rachel Cotterman '10

Joshua Curtis and Richard "Max" Helzberg, both seniors, will spend next year in the Far East, thanks to awards they recently received from the Fulbright Program, an international educational program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and Department of Education.

For his academic merit and leadership potential, Joshua Curtis received the fellowship in order to teach the English language in Korea. A double major in history and classical civilization with a double minor in politics and law and society, Curtis is also the co-chair of Oberlin College Students for the American Civil Liberties Union, a member of the Educational Policy Planning Committee, and a volunteer in the Oberlin public schools.

An honors candidate in the history department, Curtis recently drew upon his honors project to give a public talk sponsored by the Oberlin African American Genealogy and History Group titled "Race and Reorganization of Oberlin's Elementary School in the 1960s." He says he is particularly looking forward to serving as a cultural ambassador, one of the Fulbright aims, and sharing his knowledge of American history with the people in Korea in class and out.

This summer he will take part in a six-week orientation in Seoul before placement in a secondary school. He credits the volunteering he did in the Oberlin schools, in particular with Words Are Very Empowering (WAVE), a high school summer tutoring program, with providing good training for the upcoming year.

Curtis's plans also include volunteering in a Korean orphanage. At the age of seven, he went with his parents to the country to adopthis younger brother, Jonathan. Teaching a year in Jonathan's homeland "is a way of getting to know a part of my family, and thus myself, better," he says.

"Oberlin [does a lot to] assist students who want to win prestigious post grad-fellowships such as the Fulbright," he says. "The College does a great job keeping students informed about fellowship opportunities. Plus the Teaching and Tutoring Writing Across the Disciplines course I took and the work I did in the the Expository Writing Program's drop-in writing center were invaluable, as was the help I received from faculty members Anne Trubek, Booker Peek, and Tom Newlin"

Richard "Max" Helzberg, a double major in East Asian studies and economics with a concentration in international studies, will study at a Japanese university as well as undertake a major research project focused on the country's declining birth rate, a current hot-button issue.

During spring semester 2006, Helzberg studied away at Japan's Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, where he was awarded the Kansai Gaidai Merit Scholarship. Spring semester 2007 included a study abroad experience in Denmark and China, followed by a summer internship funded by the Nambu Foundation at Pasona Incorporated in Nagoya, Japan.

Helzberg became interested in Japanese culture at an early age and often visited San Francisco's "Japan Town" district, where he says, "I found myself mesmerized by the beauty of the art, language, and customs of the Japanese and developed a thirst to learn more."

Helzberg says his two majors, the skills he's acquired at Oberlin, and the support and guidance of his professors, coaches, and friends led to his receiving the Fulbright. "I have had a truly amazing experience at Oberlin, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to study here."  

James Dobbins, professor of East Asian Studies and James H. Fairchild Professor of religion, has known Helzberg since he entered Oberlin, and says he is quite prepared to benefit from his sojourn in Japan.

"Max was in my class his first year and had his eye on the field as a major even then," Dobbins says. "He was a super-star student from the outset and systematically set out to learn all he could about the culture, including its language. I'm sure he has a very bright future ahead of him."

Helzberg is a member of the Oberlin Student Finance and Investment Club, a tutor in Japanese language, a three-year letterman with the varsity football team , and was a starting linebacker until sidelined by a back injury in fall 2007.

Helzberg's future plans include earning an MBA or JD degree and putting his fluency in Japanese to use in a career that focuses on either international business or law.