Hampshire College Alum Anna Kempf 20F Receives Fulbright Grant

Kempf, who graduated from Hampshire in spring 2022, has been honored with a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. She will serve as an English teaching assistant (ETA) in Germany for the 2024–25 academic year, drawing on her multicultural background and teaching experience to reach students on an individual level and provide relevant information and guidance.
 
“I took two years of German courses at Amherst College, as well as European history courses with Associate Professor of History Jim Wald at Hampshire,” Kempf says. “My studies focused on the cultural and economic divides between East and West Germany, as well as Soviet-era policies in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).”
 
Her ancestors came to the United States from southern Germany in the 18th century, and she learned English as a second language herself starting at the age of six. She says she’s looking forward to reconnecting with her history and heritage: “I’m curious to understand how the values fostered by the cultural and political environment of the GDR reverberate in today’s Germany, and eager to engage with German students to gain their perspectives on this complex history.”  
 
Kempf has been assigned to teach at a middle school in Lichtenfels, Bavaria, where, in addition to her work in the classroom, she plans to offer fiber arts, bookbinding, soapmaking, and other cultural arts and crafts to children in after-school programs. “I grew up learning and practicing many of these arts on my family’s homestead,” she says. “I love to work with children and I’m excited to provide a window into some of these skills from the past.”
 
Since graduation, Kempf has worked as an admissions counselor at Hampshire. Although she has enjoyed her work, she says she’s very honored to become a part of the Fulbright program: “I’m grateful for this opportunity, and excited to experience a cultural exchange between the United States and Germany.”  
 
As a Fulbright ETA, she hopes to pay forward the education she’s enjoyed and return with insights into German culture to inform her path in academia.
 
Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected in an open, merit-based competition that considers leadership potential, academic and/or professional achievement, and record of service. This year, Kempf is recognized alongside more than 800 faculty, administrators, and other professionals who teach or conduct research in affiliation with institutes abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Fulbrighters form ongoing collaborations and lay the groundwork for future partnerships between institutions.
 
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided some 400,000 accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds the chance to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. Fulbrighters exchange ideas, build people-to-people connections, and work to address complex global challenges. Among the notable Fulbrighters are 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 80 MacArthur Fellows, 41 heads of state or government, and thousands of leaders across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.
 
Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding from the federal government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which has operated in more than 160 countries. In the United States, the Institute of International Education implements the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar Programs on behalf of the Department of State.