Presbyterian College alumna Katherine Bryant ’07.

Bryant will focus her research on how Moroccan civil institutions build capacity for youth civic engagement, social entrepreneurship and employability.

by Sarah Murphy

The capital city of Rabat in northern Morocco will be home for Presbyterian College alumna Katherine Bryant ‘07 this fall.

The PC history and biology double-major – who, since graduating from PC, has also received masters degrees from American University and UN Universidad para la Paz – earned a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Research, which allows  K-12 teachers to engage in research and professional learning abroad.  

“I was elated,” said Bryant after  learning she had earned the award. “I am humbled to have the opportunity to gain access to the perspectives and lived experiences of Moroccan youth.”

Bryant is part of a cohort of 20 U.S. peers, all of whom are researching an array of topics in different countries. They are each commissioned to engage in meaningful research that is relevant to both their home and host country, as well as to serve as ‘cultural diplomats’ on behalf of the U.S. State Department. The Fulbright grant requires two deliverables – a research paper and a product. 

Bryant’s research will focus on how Moroccan civil institutions build capacity for youth civic engagement, social entrepreneurship, and employability to ensure a healthy civil society. She will conduct ethnographic field work, including interviews and focus groups with university students and participant observation at community development organizations. 

Though her end product will ultimately be dictated by her research, Bryant hopes to develop a cross-cultural partnership that will strengthen global competencies while using an asset-based approach to community development.

“As a classroom teacher, this scholarship provides me with a unique opportunity to conduct research that will no doubt enhance my class and teaching and will, hopefully, have implications that expand far beyond my own school community,” she said.

Bryant said she is grateful for the solid research skills and methods foundation she received as a student at PC, as well as the strong friendships she formed there. Two PC friends will make the trip to Morocco to visit her this fall.

“I deeply admire that PC encourages lifelong learning and challenges students to live lives of purpose,” said Bryant. “My first class at PC was an inquiry-based seminar examining the intersections of faith and science, taught by Dr. Bob Bryant and Dr. Walter Ott. I credit those professors for developing my framework for learning and teaching, and for modeling healthy civil discourse. That class solidified my adherence to an interdisciplinary approach to the world that is not separate from my faith, but stemming from it.”

For more information about PC History and Biology, visit the department websites.