KENT, Conn.—Caleb Ockman, a 2021 graduate of South Kent School, has already seen more of the world than many people ever will.
Now, he stands poised to further expand his horizons, both academically and culturally, as he prepares for his new role as a Fulbright Scholar studying in Turkey.
The Fulbright Program is recognized as one of the most prestigious international exchange programs and is known for its rigorous selection process and the high caliber of its recipients. It is as if Ockman’s entire life has been preparing him for this moment.
Both his parents have had international careers and he was born in Bulgaria. He spent his first 14 years in The Ukraine, Serbia, and Kenya before coming to South Kent School as a freshman.
“The first three places I lived had a big influence on me,” he said, but when he started to look for a prep school with a strong soccer program, he did not consider Eastern Europe, with its rich tradition of producing strong and talented players.
“It would have been complicated,” he explained. “I wanted to play soccer, but I would have had to sign a contract as a kid. South Kent’s program was then the best in the country—and still is good—so I came here.”
He got his chance to play, but South Kent soon began to propel him in other directions as well. “I loved South Kent, and I became much more interested in academics. I had a number of teachers who were very influential on my education,” he reported, mentioning, in particular, Fr. Steve Klots, the school’s chaplain and English teacher.
Even before his senior year he started “looking into really good academic schools” for his college career and settled on Williams, with its strong soccer program and rigorous academic environment.
When he got to Williams his shift from sports to academics intensified, however. “I only played one year because of a coaching change,” he explained. “It wasn’t a good fit, and I decided I wanted to explore what Williams had to offer. So, I joined the newspaper and started sailing—which was a fun thing to do—and got more deeply into academia.”
He co-founded a foreign policy club, a kind of student-run think tank that hosts weekly discussion sessions, produces research, and mentors undergraduates interested in policy careers.
His early exposure to Eastern European languages and culture influenced his decision to double major in history and Russian while completing coursework in French and political science. In the spring of his junior year, he studied abroad in Kazakhstan through Middlebury’s Russian immersion program, taking university courses entirely in Russian and pledging not to speak any other language during his stay.
“It was a different experience,” he said, “but I wanted to immerse myself in the language and study.”
While he keeps a variety of possibilities open for his final career choice, his focus has begun to narrow onto Central Asia. “I took a course in international relations in the Eurasian region, its politics and history from the fall of the Soviet Union to the present,” he said. “It had a unit on Turkey and its cultural influence on Eurasia. It’s vital for the European Union and the U.S, as well as China and Russia.
“That course made me realize I wanted to pursue a career in foreign policy—and that to understand Eurasia, you can’t just know Russian. You need to understand Turkey. I wanted to learn more, so I applied for a Fulbright to study in Turkey for my Master’s Degree.”
The application and acceptance process has been long. He applied in the fall of his senior year and when he graduated in May, he had moved from semi-finalist to being an alternate. In late May, he finally received word he had been named a finalist.
He is currently weighing placement offers from two universities in Istanbul, examining their different course offerings and housing options.
Looking beyond his studies in Turkey, he sees a number of career opportunities. “I want to come back to the States and perhaps work for the federal government doing something around the State Department or Defense—NATO or the UN would be rewarding and fulfilling careers. Or perhaps I could work with a private think tank on Eurasian policy. A further option would be to do the Fulbright, work for few years in foreign policy, travel a little bit and then go into international law. That would also be very appealing to me.”
In the meantime, there is much work to do. Already multilingual, he is nevertheless preparing for residence in a country where he does not speak the language. “I don’t speak any Turkish, but I will have the basics by the time I go,” he said. “I would like to learn Turkish because it opens up a whole new family of languages.
“When you learn a language as a kid, it comes easy because you don’t think logically about it,” he continued. “I learned Serbian when I was 12 or 13 and it only took a year because it has the same Slavic roots as Russian, but Turkish is totally different. I’ve gotten a taste of it by listening to what it will be like, and a lot of the letters are similar to Serbian, but the vocabulary and grammar are not going to be easy.”
He is eager for his new experience. “I am nervous, of course. I haven’t done anything like this before, but mostly I am very excited,” he said.
