Jessica Rohr

2022 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grantee

Hometown

Hayes, VA

Major

Linguistics

College

College of Liberal Arts

 

Jessica Rohr is roaring off to Bern, Switzerland as part of the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program. As one of the newest Fulbright grantees, Jessica joins a storied and impressive multi-generational network of Fulbrighters who, despite diverse interests and specialties, are bound by their commitment to intercultural exchange.

In Bern, Jessica will spend 12 months studying bidialectalism, or the practice of one person speaking two dialects of the same language. Jessica is particularly interested in how dialects inform and are informed by the speaker’s bicultural identity. She will conduct her research under the guidance of Dr. Erez Levon at the Center for the Study of Language and Society at Bern University. Given that Jessica is studying dialects of Swiss German, Switzerland’s capital is the ideal host community for her research. When not in the linguistics lab, Jessica will harness her teaching skills and build relationships as a volunteer for Asyl, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of asylum seekers.

Following the completion of her Fulbright grant, Jessica will return to Purdue to finish her PhD before pursuing an academic position that emphasizes both student mentorship and innovative research in fields like German, linguistic curriculum, and the relationship between language and identity.