Sarah Hartzog, a recent graduate ofMillsaps College, will soon be moving to Mexico for a year with thehelp of the Fulbright Fellowship.

    The fellowship is a grant given by the U.S. Department of State topromote understanding and sharing among different cultures. Hartzogwill be relocating to Mexico City in mid-August to begin aninternship at Texas Ribs and enroll in classes at InstitutoTecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM) to work toward a Master’s ofBusiness Administration.

    “The opportunity is unparalleled,” she said. “I could not think ofanything I’d rather do the year after I graduate from college.”

    Hartzog said she is looking forward to learning with a differentset of peers. With the internship, she will be working on specialprojects, marketing and financial analysis and will be workingunder the chief financial officer.

    Hartzog is especially excited about the analytical part of herduties. She said she will look at accounts and income and see ifparticular promotions are profitable. If a particular one is not,she will need to evaluate how it could be.

    “I’m looking forward to working in a new industry,” she said. “Ilike knowing a lot of different things.”

    She is hoping to perfect her Spanish while in Mexico with theprolonged time immersed in the culture.

    Hartzog said when she originally learned Spanish in elementaryschool she hated it. However, she had a change of heart when sherelearned it in high school.

    “It was just something that clicked for me,” she said.

    Later, she traveled to Mexico with First Baptist of Brookhaven,which cemented her interest in the language.

    “I just fell in love with the people who spoke it,” she said.

    She said while she’s excited about the upcoming opportunity, she isalso nervous about moving to Mexico City.

    It is very different from living on campus at Millsaps or in SilverCreek, where she is from. She will not have a car and will have tolearn to live on her own.

    “It’s a different lifestyle in Mexico, and it’s a differentlifestyle in Mexico City,” she said.

    The fellowship pays for her tuition for up to six classes over thecourse of a year. When it is over, she will not have earned hermaster’s, but she does not know where she will finish herschooling.

    Hartzog said there are thousands of Fulbright scholarships givenout every year. Some are given to students from other countries sothey can come to the U.S. to study, others are given to Americansto teach English abroad, but most are given to U.S. students whohave just graduated.

    Hartzog graduated from Millsaps in May with a Bachelor’s ofBusiness Administration in accounting and Spanish. She is thedaughter of Greg and Jeanna Hartzog, of Silver Creek.