By Amy Keum & Kai-Lou Yue 
Staff Writers

Kathleen Ralls, a history teacher at WA, is taking a leave of absence for the entire 2013-2014 school year because she has received a Fulbright Scholarship. It requires Ralls to live in Norway for a year and teach middle-school and high-school students.

The scholarship is a program from the Council of International Exchange of Scholars that promotes international education and cultural appreciation. There are programs all over the world for the scholarship, all working to connect the different cultures and nations. The program was started by a U.S. Senator in 1946.

“It had lengthy recommendations…It’s a lot like college…I applied back in the summer, but I only heard back from them last month, so it was a pretty lengthy process,” said Ralls.

Ralls took a group of 20 sophomores to Norway in April of 2012 to study   the environmental policy of Norway. It was there that she was told about the scholarship and invited to apply for the scholarship.

“They pay for my flight over, they pay for all my housing, all my transportation, they give me a salary, so it’s basically a job for the year. Its pretty amazing,” said Ralls.

Excited, Ralls knows where she will be lodging during her stay, an apartment in downtown Oslo, Norway.

Because she loves traveling and has been to many international places such as many parts of Asia, Ralls is not in the least worried about living abroad in another country.

“I love traveling, I’ve been to Asia, I’ve been to Europe a bunch of times, I want to go as many places as possible…so I’m very excited; I can’t wait,” said Ralls.

However, even though she is extremely excited, Ralls has one concern.

“My husband has to stay behind, so that’s the tough part…but we both agreed that if I got this opportunity, we would do anything so I could go there…and he just started a new job, and he wants to retain it, so he’s going to stay here…It’s definitely going to be the hardest part,” said Ralls.

She will be traveling around Norway to teach American history at several schools and is preparing ten lessons for the students. In addition to the lessons for the students, four lessons for the Norwegian teachers are also being prepared in order to educate them on teaching methods used in American schools

Ralls also mentioned that she would not be the only teacher from the US working with the Norwegian students; two other Americans would be working with her. However, she does not know who they are, only that they live in America. She will meet them in August when she goes to Norway.

She plans to implement some of what she learns in Norway in the WA system when she comes back from her one year leave of absence and is extremely excited to be able to have this opportunity.

“She will be a true ambassador,” said Social Studies department coordinator Libby Porter. “We look forward to her return in 2014 and to hearing stories of her adventures!”