Fulbright Scholar to teach English in Malaysia

Zoë Lees '06, a history and Hispanic studies major from Santa Fe, N.M., will teach English and study indigenous medicinal practices in Malaysia next year as a Fulbright Scholar.

A Balfour Scholar, Lees first taught English abroad in 2004, when she traveled to Ecuador as a Wheaton Fellow.

''Teaching English in Ecuador gave me an appreciation for the quality of the facilities and education that I have been afforded in the United States,'' Lees told the Fulbright committee. ''I realized that while teaching, it was my responsibility--despite the worn-out schoolroom--to give quality education to my students.''

It was also in Ecuador where Lees developed her interest in medicinal plants and indigenous traditions in medicine. While volunteering at a biological reserve, she met a Quechuan woman who helped maintain a medicinal garden as a resource for local residents, despite declining interest. As the two talked, Lees became increasing interested in studying how different cultures balance old and new traditions in medicine.

Lees is active locally in the America Reads program in Attleboro, where she tutored schoolchildren. On campus she is the business manager of the Lyons Den coffeehouse, a member of student government, the College Democrats and the college's Amnesty International chapter. She is also a student advisor in the Center for Global Education, helping students better understand the importance of studying abroad.

Her interest in different cultures, nurtured in her native Santa Fe at the School of American Research in the Indian Arts Research Center and in her studies at Wheaton, have informed future plans as well. She hopes to earn a graduate degree in history and work with a nongovernmental organization for cultural and environmental rights.