A Canoga Park man will teach in Romania later this year, having received a U.S. Student Fulbright award.
Chris Kajtor, currently a Peace Corps volunteer in the Ukraine, received an English Teaching Assistantship grant, which will cover his travel, room and board costs for the academic year starting in October. He will teach at a university in Cluj-Napoka, the second most populous city in Romania.
The Fulbright program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is designed to facilitate cultural exchange and allow grantees to gain an appreciation of others' viewpoints, beliefs and actions. Fulbright recipients, who live and work with people of the host countries, also serve as cultural ambassadors for the United States.
Participants are chosen for their leadership potential and academic accomplishments. Kajtor, who attended California Lutheran University and earned bachelor’s degrees in sociology and psychology in 2007 and a master’s degree in public policy and administration in 2010, joined the Peace Corps in 2010.
He will complete his Peace Corps service in Khmelnitsky, Ukraine, this summer. There he developed a university class on Becoming a Man, started a Big Brother/Big Sister project, mounted a “Free Hugs” campaign, gave a presentation on HIV/AIDS and helped open an English resource center in the city’s library. He also organized two baseball camps, helped start a college baseball team and is now working to build a field for the team.
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