WEST NEWBURY — While most college seniors will spend the summer after graduation figuring not only who they are but what they're going to do, Paul DiResta is a step ahead of the rest.
DiResta, a West Newbury native and senior at Kenyon College in Ohio with a double major in modern foreign languages and international studies, has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar to teach English in Taiwan.
DiResta, who can speak Chinese and Spanish, has studied abroad before, and traces his interest in Chinese back to his days at Brooks School in North Andover.
"I was in an international dormitory; it was a very new experience. After that, I was hooked."
Later, while at Kenyon, he applied for the Fulbright program at the urging of his Chinese teacher, but didn't think it was going to happen.
"I applied and then kind of forgot about it," he said. "It was definitely a long shot. I just assumed I wasn't going to get in."
In the midst of his senior thesis and acceptance to Middlebury's graduate program, he got a phone call from his mother. She had received a package from the Fulbright Scholarship Program, written completely in Chinese. When it came to graduate school, she told him, "I think you better tell Middlebury to put it on hold."
Established shortly after World War II, the Fulbright Program, named after its legislative initiator, U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, aims to promote mutual understanding between the United States and other countries of the world through educational exchange programs. The Fulbright, which awards about 7,500 grants annually and boasts 111,000 U.S. "Fulbrighters" across 155 countries, relies mainly on funding from the Department of State through an appropriation made by the U.S. Congress.
On Aug. 1, DiResta will make the more than 14-hour flight to the south of Taiwan. For the following 11 months, he will live on or near a campus, survive off a weekly stipend and spend his weeks teaching English and writing educational materials. Despite his experience assistant teaching at a community college, he's not sure what to expect.
"I'm excited," he said, "but still nervous. I'll learn more as I go. It should definitely be an eye opener."
He's hoping to travel to Taiwan and the mainland of China during school vacations. "I'm using this not only to help my resume, but to learn more about the Chinese language and culture."
For their part, DiResta's past teachers at the Immaculate Conception School in Newburyport remember him as someone who found the common ground but enjoyed exploring the differences as well.
"I love to travel, and whenever I came back from a trip, I remember Paul's keen interest in knowing more about different cultures," said Suellen Welch, who had DiResta in third grade. "He was always asking questions, always wanting to know more.
"He has that natural curiosity," she continued. "He would take it to the next level, he would ask questions that would stump even his teachers. I hope he's able to share the spirit of this with others, to be able to take what he learns and pass it on."
DiResta's mother, Susan, is hoping the same thing as well. "You want your kids to have their values," she said, "but you want them to respect others' values as well. I'm so excited for him; he never thought this was a possibility. The whole world just opened up a little bit more for him."
While he's not sure what will come next, DiResta does see himself pursuing a master's degree after this. His acceptance at Middlebury can't be deferred a year, but DiResta isn't too concerned.
"I'll reapply next year," he said. While pursuing his studies and making his way through life, he said, "Keeping an open mind has always been absolutely crucial."
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