Emile Bautista-Bekken ’23 earns Fulbright to Kazakhstan
Skilled linguist teaches English as a Fulbright scholar
Language has always been important for Emile Bautista-Bekken ’23.
With a mother from California and a father from Mexico, the Lowell, Mass., native grew up speaking English and Spanish fluently. Since then, he’s learned French and Russian, both at an advanced level.
At Wheaton College, he added German and Italian to his repertoire. Now he’s working on a seventh: Kazakh.
The graduate recently embarked on the trip of a lifetime, traveling to Kazakhstan to teach English as a Fulbright scholar.
Fulbright scholars are recent college graduates, graduate students or early career professionals who take part in study and research exchanges or serve as English teaching assistants. The federal government recently recognized Wheaton as one of the top producers of Fulbright scholars in the U.S.
Although Russian is an official language in Kazakhstan, Bautista-Bekken is based in the southern city of Kyzylorda where Kazakh is predominantly spoken.
“My Russian is good,” he said. “I just started learning Kazakh. I’m a little shaky, but I’m planning on taking lessons there every day and studying it very seriously. I’m not too worried because Wheaton helped me realize how to more efficiently learn languages and how to take risks in speaking with people even if I’m not at a very high level.”
As a Russian language and literature major, Bautista-Bekken always had an interest in Kazakhstan, particularly for its geopolitical role, located between the superpowers of Russia and China.
But it wasn’t until he took a course at Wheaton that he seriously considered traveling there.
“I wouldn’t have even thought about going to Kazakhstan if I hadn’t checked out a course called Russia’s East,” he said. “It talked about the Asian countries that used to be part of the Russian Empire.”
Bautista-Bekken said he chose to attend Wheaton, in part, due to its strong language programs, and the many teaching assistants available to students.
After graduating, he moved to Nashua, N.H., where he has taught English to immigrants and refugees at an adult education center. With some students having little to no background in English, he said he often has to translate words and explain grammar in up to four languages.
Bautista-Bekken added that the work is particularly fulfilling and that he feels like he’s truly making a difference in the community by helping people transition to a new country.
“This work has opened my mind to a potential career in working with immigrant communities or abroad,” he said. “It has also reassured me that all my time learning languages has not been in vain. I have been further convinced that knowing many languages and about many cultures is invaluable in our society.”
—By Scott Enman ’15