Lisette Hoeltzel, 2006 Alma graduate
Fulbright scholar Lisette Hoeltzel started out as an education major before one of her sociology classes completely changed her outlook on life.
Hoeltzel said the diverse curriculum is what originally attracted her to Alma, and what later changed the course of her life.
A family course in the sociology department sparked her interest in women and poverty, and she was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship in 2006 to conduct research on Canadian policies for preventing suicide among the Inuit.
She did her research after she graduated in 2006.
Hoeltzel spent nine months in Montreal, researching the Inuit, a native Arctic tribe. She noticed their suicide rate was much higher than the national average, even after attempts by the Inuit and the government to combat the problem.
“ You need a top-notch proposal to be awarded such a prestigious federal grant, and I wouldn't have received it without the support I had from the Alma College professors.”
“I really only had a month to work on my grant proposal. It wasn’t a lengthy process, but it was intense. Dr. Hulme was very helpful guiding me through the application process, and Dr. Fobes also helped out a great deal with the drafting phases of my proposal. It was so great to have that kind of support from professors,” she said. “I know … most applicants at other schools didn’t have that kind of support. You need a top-notch proposal to be awarded such a prestigious federal grant, and I wouldn’t have received it without the support I had from the Alma College professors.”
Hoeltzel came to Alma College for the smaller classrooms and diverse curriculum. “I liked that it was a private liberal arts college,” she said.
While at Alma, she said the course diversity and academic studies required gave her a larger understanding of how things work in the world. “They demand a higher standard and a higher quality of work. That really helped me to prepare me for the kind of work I’m doing right now,” she said.
Hoeltzel is currently working toward her Masters of Social Work Degree at the University of Michigan. She said she would like to get her doctorate and do research.
