New Wooster urban studies grad awarded Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship

Case Baumwart ’25 is the most recent graduate from The College of Wooster to receive an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Baumwart will teach English in a secondary school or university in Costa Rica and serve as a cultural ambassador for the United States. He is the 27th Fulbright awardee from Wooster since 2010.

Baumwart first learned about the ETA program through a Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant from Argentina who was working in the Wooster Spanish department. He was immediately intrigued by the prestigious award. “I liked how it allows students to functionally study abroad while receiving a stipend and gaining work experience,” he said. “Earning a Fulbright became my goal, and I’m excited to teach and learn more about Costa Rican culture.”

The urban studies major chose to apply to Costa Rica because of the country’s innovative approach to sustainability and conservation. “Costa Rica has a well-developed environmental plan,” he said. “It’s a very sustainable country, and it has effective governance on those issues. I wanted to be in the periphery of that space and learn more about that success.”

Baumwart credits several experiences during his time at Wooster with making him a strong candidate for the Fulbright program. He worked as a teaching assistant in both political science and the art and art history departments and as a peer mentor in the Global Engagement Office, where he advised students on study abroad opportunities. He also studied abroad himself in Chile during his junior year and participated in a 2.5-week TREK program to Argentina.

His qualifications impressed the campus Fulbright committee, which included Beth Derderian, assistant professor of anthropology and museum studies, and John Siewert, associate professor of art and art history. “Case was an outstanding candidate for the Fulbright for a number of reasons,” Derderian said. “First, Fulbrighters are excellent students who maintain very high GPAs, and Case was no exception. Second, Case prepared an excellent project. His humility and genuine interest in building connections and learning from Costa Ricans shone through in his application.”

Baumwart’s time in Chile was particularly impactful. He studied in the city of Valparaíso, where thousands of families live in informal settlements. After returning to campus, he decided to focus his Independent Study on the rise of these communities and how they are impacted by urban wildfires. He analyzed demographic data and spatial data on fire incidents to find a correlation between the characteristics of settlements and their proximity to wildfires.

Wooster’s signature I.S. program is one of the many reasons the College has been so successful at producing Fulbright recipients, Derderian noted. “Our students know how to develop a research project from their I.S., so they are able to develop an appropriate project for a Fulbright grant,” she said. “Their completed I.S. projects are also a testament to their ability to work independently and design and execute large-scale projects, which convinces review committees that these students will thrive on a Fulbright.”

Baumwart plans to earn a master’s degree in urban and regional planning or public policy after his time in Costa Rica. Eventually he hopes to pursue a career in environmental policy or management.

Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program fosters mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and people of other countries. The U.S. Congress appropriates funds to the U.S. Department of State each year to sponsor the program. About 8,000 students, faculty members, scholars, and professionals from the United States and over 160 countries receive awards each year to study, teach, and conduct research abroad.

Featured image: Case Baumwart ’25, provided by the subject.

Posted in Homepage Featured, News on June 18, 2025.