The Chronicle of Higher Education has named St. Petersburg College a Top Producing Institution in the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program for the 2019-2020 academic year. SPC is one of 26 associate and baccalaureate institutions in the U.S. named in that category.

This recognition comes from SPC adjunct professor Dr. Julie Dell-Jones’ appointment as a Fulbright Scholar in Morocco. Dell-Jones is at Hassan II University at the Ben M’Sik campus, where she taught Media in the US and Educational Technology in the Fall 2019 semester. She is now teaching Intro to Media Studies and Oral Communication.

Dell-Jones chose Morocco after several trips there; though, when she applied, it had been 15 years since she’d visited.

“I have always loved this country. I wanted to learn about the Amazigh (Berber) culture and history. I read about the tribal jewelry, textiles and other artisan products. Inevitably, I also researched the language and gender issues. I was overdue for a visit, and I wanted to see how much had changed and what had remained the same.”

Her time in Morocco has helped her professionally by allowing her to experience a very different type of educational organization.

“Since I teach non-native speakers of English at SPC, learning how other countries organize their educational system has been a valuable lesson,” she said. “SPC students in ESL benefit from having English available around them in various ways, but it is still necessary to make efforts to get them out of their comfort zones.”

Some things are no different than in the States, including the obstacles students face in getting an education.

“Like at SPC, I try to get to know the real challenges for students, so that I might be able to offer a work-around,” she said. “This may mean creating a new assignment for a student who can’t access WiFi, or bringing a snack for students who have been on campus the majority of the day and will be taking a test on an empty stomach.”