Michael Colebrook ‘10, Ph.D., admits that teaching at St. John’s Prep School in Shrewsbury – his alma mater – was “a little weird the first year, because my former teachers became my colleagues.” Now he absolutely loves it.
An Assumption baseball and academic standout, Colebrook was a double major in French and philosophy who stepped into this teaching job well prepared. As an undergraduate, he tutored at the institution’s Academic Support Center. He honed his French studying in Quebec and at the Sorbonne in Paris, then earned a Lilly Fellowship in the Humanities and the Arts as he headed into his doctoral studies at the University of Dallas.
“The whole concept of the Lilly Fellows program is to produce Christian scholars who will go on to publish and teach in all types of Christian schools,” Colebrook said.
Participants are selected from around the country through a challenging application process. Once accepted, Lilly Fellows participate in additional readings to complement their coursework, monthly dialogues with mentors and other Lilly Fellows, and annual reunions.
“It‘s great to discuss ideas with people from different faith traditions and academic disciplines,” said Colebrook. “My network of Lilly Fellows and mentors kept me focused on why I was doing grad school to begin with: to one day be able to inspire students the way I was inspired by my own teachers.”
Gianna Lillian Gugliotti ‘13, who received her degree in English literature and earned a master‘s degree in English literature at the University of Connecticut, said the Lilly Fellowship greatly enhanced her graduate school experience because of the unique community it created, “providing me with a powerful support system and network. I can‘t suggest it highly enough.”
