Klein College of Media and Communication students are faced with many choices as they prepare to graduate and leave the nest. From new jobs, to graduate school, to travel opportunities, our students pursue a variety of paths – all with their experiences and expertise from their time at Temple University to guide them. 

Recent graduate Robbie Bryant, KLN ’23, is heading to Taiwan in a few short weeks where he will stay until August 2024. The first two months of his time will be spent studying Mandarin Chinese through the United States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Critical Language Scholarship. After his two months of study, Bryant will spend a year teaching English through a Fulbright Scholarship.  

As an already declared communication studies student, Bryant also pursued another major in Spanish, a concentration in international communications and a certificate in Chinese to better study language and international cultures.  

“It’s been so amazing to see him really embark on this journey of language and cultural appreciation,” said Bryant’s lifelong friend Sarah Godshalk, CPH ’23. Godshalk took Spanish I with Bryant in high school and noted that from the start he has always had an amazing way of understanding language.  

In July 2021, Bryant applied to study abroad in Spain and spent the spring 2022 semester immersing himself in Spanish culture and language. Before leaving for Spain, Bryant started looking for ways to continue studying Chinese, as well. This led him to the Critical Language Scholarship.  

“I thought it was a shot in the dark because it’s such a competitive scholarship,” Bryant said.  

Nevertheless, halfway through his time in Spain, Bryant found out that he was a finalist for the scholarship and would be going to China. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was moved to an online format.  

Determined to have the full experience, Bryant politely declined the scholarship and looked for other ways to travel somewhere that spoke Mandarin Chinese, such as Taiwan.  

Through Temple’s study abroad department, Bryant was awarded the Huayu Bilingual Education Selected Talent scholarship through National Taiwan University. Though he was thrilled, Bryant then had to find housing, get his visa approved and travel to Taiwan – all from Spain. Luckily, he got all of his paperwork approved just two days before his flight to Taiwan! 

Bryant spent the summer in Taiwan in a language-intensive program, soaking up as much Taiwanese culture as he could. And, of course, he couldn’t help but look for ways to come back again one day.  

After getting some emails about applying for a Fulbright, Bryant debated whether he would want to apply for Spain or Taiwan, but settled on Taiwan so he could continue to better his Chinese.  

When he got back to the U.S., Bryant worked on settling into his old life and described it as almost reverse culture shock. Going from Spain to Taiwan meant that he spent almost 9 months abroad; and upon his return, he had to adjust to American culture and jump right into his senior year. 

Once he settled in, Bryant finished his Fulbright application with the help of supporters and recommenders like Senior Associate Dean Deb Cai.  

Cai taught Bryant as a freshman in CSI 3701: Intercultural Communication. She noted that he immediately stood out as a student with a passion for language and culture. Cai’s background in intercultural negotiation and communication and experience living abroad in Asia made her a great mentor for Bryant throughout the rest of his time at Temple.  

After submitting his Fulbright application, Bryant began to wonder if he should apply for the Critical Language Scholarship again. Worried that his declining of it the previous year would hurt his chances, he applied anyway in hopes that the committee would recognize his determination to study outside of the U.S.  

In March 2023, Bryant found out that he was awarded the Critical Language Scholarship, this time for Taiwan, and in May 2023, he found out he was awarded the Fulbright.  

“This opportunity matches everything I want to do at this moment,” Bryant said.  

After his Fulbright ends in August 2024, Bryant isn’t sure what exactly he’ll end up doing, but knows that he wants to continue to travel the world, and maybe even learn another new language! 

“I just think the world of Robbie, and I am so excited to see where the Fulbright and the Critical Language program lead him,” Cai said.