Suparna Bose, a third-year doctoral student in the department of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education, has been awarded the Won-Joon Yoon Scholarship. Administered by the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs, the scholarship is awarded to students whose academic, professional, and personal accomplishments and goals exhibit tolerance, understanding, and commitment to service.
“This has been a bittersweet moment as the day of the [scholarship] award ceremony coincided with my father’s first death anniversary. Nevertheless, I am taking this coincidence as maybe a sign that my parents are there with me in spirit,” Bose said.
“As an instructor teaching students, or a graduate student with a family, or when I’m a volunteer in local schools or when I am presenting an Indian cultural program to a diverse audience, I realize how much I am a part of the community at large and how I need to give back,” she added. “My friends, colleagues, and instructors here in IU have always guided me not just to showcase academic talent but to be a better human being by sharing and understanding.
Bose’s research interests include multilingual reading and writing, English as a Second Language and English as a Foreign Language teaching, intercultural competence and diversity and equity in the classroom. She is also an associate instructor of English composition. She has previously taught English as a Second Language in India, Singapore, and Japan. She is also a volunteer in the local school district and an organizer and presenter of Indian cultural programs in Bloomington.
Bose is also in the process of putting together an organization called Forum for International Graduate Students (FIGS), starting in Fall 2019. One of the goals of the program is to create an online handbook for international students with information ranging from housing, childcare and healthcare to ESL support, academic advising and dissertation writing support.
The scholarship is named in honor of Won-Joon Yoon, a graduate student killed in 1999 in a racially-motivated crime.