Posse Alumnus Gabriel Rodriguez received a Fulbright to teach English in southern Italy.

New Orleans Alumnus to Teach in Italy on Fulbright

Fall 2017 | New Orleans

This October, Posse alumnus Gabe Rodriguez will begin his Fulbright Fellowship in southern Italy as part of a nine-month program teaching high school English.

A 2017 graduate of Tulane University with a double major in psychology and Italian, Gabe is looking forward to returning to Italy. He previously spent his junior year spring semester abroad as a student at the University of Bologna in northern Italy.

Gabe credits his parents, older sister and the GENTE (Generating Excellence Now & Tomorrow in Education) program at Tulane for encouraging his interest in Italian. He sees the Fulbright as an opportunity to continue the pursuit of that passion while keeping future opportunities for graduate study open.

“Growing up, I had always wanted to do something related to psychology,” Gabe says. “I am still considering the possibility of social work in the future; it’s something I learned about and like from past internships.”

Although Gabe took Italian every semester in his undergraduate studies, he says the Fulbright was something he fell into after an advisor recommended the program to him.

The prospect of teaching high school students presents a full-circle opportunity for Gabe.

“A high school teacher [was the one who] helped me develop a really strong interest in Italian language and culture,” he says. “I really enjoyed my first classes in it and I knew I wanted to study abroad.”