Young Alumnus to Study in Germany

DAAD Scholarship Takes Fadi Saleh '08 to Third Continent

Young alumnus to study in Germany.

Fadi Saleh '08

by MaryAlice Bitts

As he works to master his third language and prepares to call a third continent home, Fadi Saleh ’08 indulges his passion for international scholarship—a passion that was nurtured when he was an international student at Dickinson.

The recent graduate was recently awarded the prestigious DAAD scholarship to study in Germany. Bestowed by the German Academic Exchange Service, the scholarship will allow Saleh, a native of Syria, to explore two foreign cultures at once by earning a master’s degree in intercultural Anglophone studies at Germany’s University of Bayreth this fall.

Although his classes will be taught in English, he will take four months of coursework in Germany this summer to help him adjust to European culture and life. He says he is looking forward to the adventure.

An ever-widening world

Saleh, who first attended Syria’s Tishreen University, came to Dickinson through a U.S. Department of State program in fall 2006. An English major and active member of the Middle East Club, he was a standout from the start.

“Fadi came to Dickinson ready to immerse himself in the full spectrum of American college life,” said Fadi’s general-education advisor, David Commins, professor of history.  “The DAAD scholarship is a recognition of Fadi’s aspirations and his ability to straddle diverse cultures.”

After graduation, Saleh worked as a translator for a publishing house in  Damascus while simultaneously teaching middle-school English, fulltime, in a private school in his home-city, Lattakia. A year later, he got a position at the Arab-International Private University, where he taught English to non-majors.

But despite these accomplishments, he was driven to seek new horizons. “My experiences as part of the American educational/cultural experience have encouraged me to consider the idea of traveling and studying at the same time," Saleh explained, via e-mail, in between travels in Syria. "It makes one gain more experience at all levels, and enriches one's knowledge about the world and the variety of cultures and educational systems that different countries can offer."

A citizen of the world

He applied for the DAAD scholarship with encouragement from his former Dickinson professor, Carol Ann Johnston. Johnston, who had taught Saleh in three upper-level English courses, said she was more than happy to write his recommendation for the program.

“He is an excellent candidate to pursue further studies in English at the graduate level,” said Johnston. “He took two very difficult reading courses with me, one in John Milton and one in John Donne, two writers from the English Renaissance that even native speakers have difficulty in understanding.”

Saleh likewise has nothing but praise for the Dickinsonians who helped him grow.

“Dickinson College has everything to do with helping me prepare for this,” said Saleh. “The college has deepened my desire to interact with different people from various cultures, and has definitely made me think of myself as a citizen of this world, not of a certain country or a specific culture ... The professors, courses and social life on campus all had an undeniable impact on my academic maturity and growth."


Published June 7, 2013