About Sam Northern
My name is Sam Northern, and I am a teacher-librarian at Simpson Elementary School in Franklin, Kentucky.
I graduated from Western Kentucky University in
2008 with a Bachelor's degree in Business Management. I have a Master of Arts
in Teaching from Morehead State University and a Master of Science in Library
Media Education from WKU. I have been in education for a total of nine years.
My first international experience occurred in 2008 when I spent two weeks
learning the business practices of select companies in India. In 2014, I was
selected for the Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminars Abroad Program. I spent four
weeks in some of China’s most culturally significant cities: Beijing, Xi’an,
Chongqing, and Shanghai. Since then, I have voyaged to Antarctica as a
National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow, worked aboard a research vessel as
a NOAA Teacher at Sea, and explored nature amidst the beauty of the Rocky
Mountains and Yellowstone National Park with a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar. From January to April 2017 I will travel to Helsinki,
Finland as part of the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program. While
there, I will research best practices for phenomenon-based learning. A
three-time winner of the Kentucky Education Association’s Diversity Lesson Plan
Contest, I draw on my experiences to encourage students to celebrate the
splendid dimensions of our world. In 2015 I married my best friend, Kara, who
is also a teacher. Please be sure to follow my blog: Mister Librarian.
About The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program
The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program
recognizes and encourages excellence in teaching in the U.S. and abroad. The
Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program seeks to improve mutual
understanding among teachers, their schools and communities in the U.S. and
abroad through offering intensive professional development opportunities for
K‐12 educators. Participants take courses, lead master classes and seminars,
visit local schools, collaborate with each other online and in person, and complete
an inquiry project of their own design. Teachers go abroad at any time during
the academic year for 3‐6 months. The U.S. Department of State sponsors the
Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program in coordination with the
Institute of International Education (IIE), U.S. Embassies and Consulates,
Fulbright Commissions and other partners overseas.
About The Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international
educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. The Fulbright
Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to
the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions,
corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect
support to the Program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide. The Fulbright
Program began in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William
Fulbright of Arkansas. The Fulbright Program has given more than 370,000
students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study,
teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions
to shared international concerns. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in
many fields, including 57 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 82 who have
received Pulitzer Prizes, and 37 who have served as a head of state or
government. For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S.
Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright
