I am a non-traditional graduating senior majoring in Linguistics & Education with a minor in Anthropology. My academic interests are mostly focused on intersectionality and instructional design. In practice, I focus on culturally sustainable education models. Outside of school, I enjoy going on nature walks to take in the little wonders all around us. When the weather isn’t conducive to that, I enjoy playing online in Minecraft and other similar community servers with my friends. I felt drawn to applying to the Fulbright due to its mission of promoting supportive and friendly international relations through intellectual exchange. I applied to the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program to experience teaching in a formal setting abroad. While I have taught abroad before, I really want to experience living and working in another country outside of a short summer program. I believe this longer experience of cultural immersion abroad will give me a greater ability to understand and empathize with my future students who are learning English in the USA.

Vecksle’s near and long-term goals: I plan on continuing my education with a Master’s in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. After graduate school, I want to work with adult learners of English either in local colleges or immigration programs, as I feel this is often an underserved population.

Vecksle’s tips for future applicants: My advice to Fulbright applicants is to not be afraid to tell your own personal story. It’s what makes you stand out as an individual. And if you’re wondering if you should apply, just do it. Yes, it may be scary to apply to a program abroad, but take the chance to experience something amazing. My initial experience in a short summer abroad program led me to find a career I was passionate about, and truly changed my life. Think outside the box, writing about your experiences outside of school are an important insight into who you are for selection committees. .

I am graduating in June with Interdisciplinary Honors, a major in Global and Regional Studies, and a minor in Portuguese Language and Luso-Brazilian Studies. Next February, I am excited to have the opportunity thanks to the U.S. Student Fulbright program to go to Belo Horizonte, Brazil to study and conduct research at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. There, I will work with the Information Science department and the Center for Jewish Studies, which houses digital archives. My research will focus on how Jewish understandings of archival resources align with the archive’s methods of creating and organizing their data. I applied to this Fulbright because it will let me create my own research project that brings together my many different interests. Thanks to Dr. Eduardo Viana da Silva and the Portuguese department at UW, I became proficient in Brazilian Portuguese and learned about Brazil’s fascinating history. My knowledge of Portuguese easily translated when I started taking Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) with Dr. Canan Bolel and the Sephardic Studies program at the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies run by Dr. Devin Naar. I have now worked with the Sephardic Studies archive twice, using my passion for library and archival sciences with my knowledge of Ladino to explore the cataloging of texts that are hundreds of years old. I hope to continue to contribute to the meaningful work of digital archives and remembrance. Through my research in Brazil, I will gain skills, knowledge, and relationships that will help me as I pursue my professional goals. I want to work in the academic archival and library science field, specializing in the knowledge organization of historical texts written in Jewish languages. My Fulbright project will serve as a foundation for the research I want to conduct for the rest of my career.

Anna’s near and long-term goals: AI plan on pursuing a Master of Library Science and Archival Studies as well as a Master or Ph.D. in Jewish Studies with a focus on Jewish languages, such as Ladino, Yiddish, and Hebrew. These degrees will go toward a career as a library technician for Jewish archives, libraries, and museums. My goal is to preserve and analyze the history of Jewish migration to the Americas through archival work, leading to deeper understandings across borders.

I graduated from UW in 2021, where I majored in Neuroscience and was in the Interdisciplinary Honors program. While at UW, I founded the UW chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a group dedicated to ending the “war on drugs” and ensuring safe drug use through harm reduction education. I also conducted research in the lab of Dr. John Neumaier on the cellular & molecular mechanisms of opioid withdrawal. Since graduation, I have been working as a technician in Dr. Guoping Feng’s lab at MIT on a number of projects related to synaptic and glial function. I applied for the Fulbright as an opportunity to travel, learn a new language, and experience research in a different country. But mostly, I wanted to live in Berlin before starting graduate school. I found a very supportive professor willing to host me in their lab, and proposed to work on a project on the role of protein translational regulation on cortical interneuron development.

Lukas’ near and long-term goals: While I am unable to accept the Fulbright fellowship, I am excited to begin my training in the Neurobiology & Behavior PhD program at Columbia University in Fall 2024. After that, I hope to continue in academic neuroscience research investigating molecular mechanisms underlying cell-type specialization, synaptic transmission and plasticity.

Lukas’ tips for future applicants: Check in early and often with OMSFA advisors, who are extremely helpful for practical advice and writing feedback. For research applicants, don’t be afraid to cast a wide net looking for potential project advisors in your country of choice–finding a fitting mentor is probably more important than the details of the research.

“I care about value-driven design that strives for positive social impact. Since graduating from a Human Centered Design & Engineering major and Lingusitics minor in 2021, I’ve been working between San Francisco and Sydney, Australia. As a product designer at Intuit, I design websites and apps to help small business owners handle their finances. Nights and weekends, I create graphics and curriculum for Basilica Bio, an environmental justice nonprofit building resilience and climate knowledge in frontline communities. When I’m not playing with design software, you can usually find me backpacking, climbing, running, kayaking, or doing pretty much any other outdoor activity. My childhood home hosted 56 exchange students from 16 different countries before I graduated high school; this multicultural exposure sparked my curiosity about languages, culture clashes, and worldwide communities. As a Fulbright scholar in Thailand, I’ll be using interdisciplinary research and design methods to engage Thai citizens in the Smart City design process. In doing so, I hope to test whether co-designing Smart Cities technology with urban residents creates more useful and usable solutions for those communities. I chose to apply for Fulbright because I want to work on globally pervasive problems, and believe that doing that well would require lived exposure unfamiliar perspectives. (Also, because I wanted to eat Thai food every single day). After Fulbright, I hope to continue working in digital tech and Internet of Things design, but transition internationally full time. I see Fulbright as a crucial step towards learning to juggle diverse perspectives, and building a global professional network. Eventually, I plan to get a master’s degree in sustainable design, social technologies, or another interdisciplinary field, in service of one day advancing technology for social good through leadership roles like heading a service design division for an environmental non-profit or starting my own company.”

Lexi’s near and long-term goals: In the near term, I want to embrace discomfort and get far better at ordering food in Thai. Following Fulbright, I plan to look for interdisciplinary jobs that build my skills designing for digital, physical, and AR/VR mediums. In the long term, I’d like to take on leadership roles like heading a service design division for an environmental non-profit or starting my own company.

Lexi’s tips for future applicants: First, I’d absolutely recommend that both current students and alums use the resources from the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards. The advisors there are incredible at asking the right questions that help you reflect, which allows you to turn your ideas into a compelling, persuasive proposal. Secondly, I’d recommend being incredibly specific in your proposal – it’s easy to get caught up in broad, idealistic statements without using concrete examples. After every sentence, ask yourself – “Is this content specific to me, my skills, and what I’m proposing?”

Transitioning from studying art history at UW to beginning a teaching role in Turkey may seem like an unexpected shift to some. However, for me, it was a path paved by my desire to connect with my Turkish heritage, create friendships around the world, and immerse myself in a language and cultural exchange. Before discovering the Fulbright program, I was not sure how to fulfill this goal. Once I learned about Fulbright, I recognized it as the perfect opportunity to achieve this. The UW Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards (OMSFA) provided invaluable support, guiding me through the program details and showing the opportunities it could offer. During my time in Türkiye, I aim to deepen my understanding of Turkish culture not only through language but also through art and art history. I hope to engage with the community by volunteering at art events, fostering connections that go beyond language barriers. While I cannot be sure of what this experience will bring, I hope my Fulbright experience is a platform to explore teaching, cultural exchange, and the significance of art and art history within Turkish society. And ultimately, I hope to share my discoveries by bringing Turkish art and culture back to America, enriching cross-cultural dialogue and appreciation.

Ela’s near and long-term goals: As a Fulbright scholar in Türkiye I hope to connect with my Turkish heritage by immersing myself in the language, culture, and art, while forming meaningful connections. I aim to leverage these experiences to enrich my understanding of Turkey and share this knowledge back in America through opportunities centered in art, food, and culture, fostering cross-cultural appreciation and understanding. While the specifics are uncertain, I am confident in my ability to creatively share Turkish culture with a broader audience in the United States.