Two New College students awarded Fulbright scholarships

BRADENTON -- Two more New College students will continue their education as Fulbright scholars, officials announced recently.

Patrick Bon Tonissen will head to Germany in the fall to teach English as part of his award. Gerina Gjergji will teacher students in Mexico as part of her award.

The students are New College's 83rd and 84th Fulbright winners.

At New College, Tonissen studied history and German, and was active in student government, was president of the German Club and worked as a teaching assistant in German. He volunteered as an ESL instructor with the Sarasota Literacy Council. Tonissen also has been certified as an English Language Instructor by ProLiteracy, an international literacy nonprofit group.

Tonissen also became certified in Peer Mediation and Conflict Resolution and worked with the SailFuture program, founded at New College, mentoring at-risk high school students.

After graduating in 2015, Tonissen remained in Sarasota and has worked for a year in mortgage banking at MB Financial.

Gjergji was raised in Albania but moved with her family to Jacksonville in 2003. She studied those subjects at New College and worked as a teaching assistant in history and political science. She has studied at the University of Puerto Rico and University of Leon in Spain, and tutored students from Mexico, Italy, Germany and Brazil in English.

She also has worked with the Sarasota World Affairs Council and is a member of the New College Dance Collective.

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 10:02 AM with the headline "Two New College students awarded Fulbright scholarships ."