A Mississippi School for Math and Science teacher is studying in Siberia this summer, thanks to a U.S. federal government grant.
Margaret Mary Henry is among 20 scholars chosen for the new Siberia by Southwest program, administered by the University of Texas Austin. This is the third Fulbright-Hays Groups Projects Abroad award for Henry, who studied at Moscow State University in summer 2014 and at St. Petersburg’s Herzen Pedagogical University in summer 2016.
Henry will spend almost two-and-a-half months studying at the state university in the city of Irkutsk, a major stop on the Trans-Siberian railroad and the gateway city to Lake Baikal, the world’s oldest, deepest freshwater lake. The coursework will include advanced studies in Russian language and culture, and participants will produce multi-media projects in Russian on the history, culture, ethnography, ecology and economy of the area. Henry will also be creating lessons for her MSMS students based on her research and experiences in Siberia.
Participants will live with host families in Irkutsk. The June 1-Aug. 12 program concludes with a week in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
A Columbus native who worked in Moscow as a journalist from 1992-1999, Henry is the only high school teacher of Russian in Mississippi.
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