Two time alumna, Johnna Reisner, returns to campus to join University College as the Assistant Director of Nationally Competitive and Experiential Learning Scholarships. Johnna graduated from Appalachian State in 2015 with a B.S. in English Education and in 2017 with an M.A. in English with a concentration in college teaching. In 2018, Johnna completed a Fulbright Teaching Assistant Award in Poznan, Poland. Upon returning to the states she moved to Raleigh, North Carolina to teach high school English. Now Johnna returns to Appalachian State to serve as a fellowship advisor and liaison between ASU and major scholarship granting institutions.
“I am excited for this new career opportunity in fellowship advising. I think this position will allow me to bring my passions for writing and advising to the forefront of what I do. On top of that, it’s such a great feeling to be able to give back to a community that has given so much to me and I’m thrilled to support students in the pursuit of their own goals and aspirations.”
Nationally Competitive Scholarship awards are externally funded opportunities to pursue language study, graduate study, teaching, research, travel opportunities, and creative endeavors. Through the application process, applicants become better writers, especially in genres of personal essay and grant application, further understand their strengths and challenges as a scholar, artist and/or researcher, and identify personal and professional goals connected to their vision for the future.
Dr. Scott Collier, the Faculty Director of Nationally Competitive Scholarships comments on the new Assistant Director: “Nationally Competitive Scholarships play such a vital role in helping students at App State realize their aspirations to further their educational goals. I am so happy to work with Johnna. She is someone who understands Appalachian State and the students. I know her background in English Education and her ability to develop a great rapport advising students will give us tremendous resources to help our students be more competitive with fellowships!”
Johnna hopes to focus on developing cross-campus relationships with students, faculty, and staff in order to grow the NCS program. With a spirit of sustainability and inclusion Johnna hopes to continue supporting the work that faculty and students are already doing with competitive scholarships and fellowships on campus.
“The application process for the Fulbright Student Program was one of the most influential learning opportunities I had during my time here. Not only did I have to genuinely consider what my unique qualities and goals were, I had to learn how to articulate those qualities and goals in my writing. The reflective practice of the application process was valuable in itself. Now, I hope to help our students have similarly valuable experiences.”
To learn more about Nationally Competitive Scholarships or Johnna’s work with this program visit ncs.appstate.edu.
Johnna Reisner Assistant Director of NCS
