FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS RETURN FROM STUDIES ABROAD
Graduates from Georgia Southern University’s Honors College are home aft er a rigorous year abroad through the 2024-2025 Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Their experiences in Taiwan, Colombia and Latvia opened their eyes to the delights and challenges of working and living in a foreign country, fulfilling the program’s goal of facilitating cultural exchange through professional advancement and cross-cultural dialogue.
James Landers (’24)
English Teaching Assistant Program in Taiwan
Q: Tell us about your time abroad. What were some of the highlights and challenges?
A: My favorite memories revolve around the local friends I’ve made and the experiences we’ve shared. From eating dinner with my fellow teacher’s family every Monday night to going into the city with my friends on the weekends, it seems like every week I have a new and better experience than the last. Before moving to Taiwan, I wasn’t aware that many people in rural areas only speak Taiwanese, a language that isn’t even available on Google Translate, while in big cities people mostly speak Mandarin. The best way I found to circumvent this problem was to write out my questions in Chinese characters, which are the same in Mandarin and Taiwanese, but the pronunciation is diff erent.
Q: How has your time abroad infl uenced your future goals?
A: Aft er returning home, I plan to further my academic career in graduate school so that one day I can research, write about or teach American and East Asian history in some capacity.
Rylee Stanton (’24)
English Teaching Assistant Program in Colombia
Q: What were the highlights and challenges?
A: I absolutely love my students. I felt inspired by them every week and they never failed to make me laugh. I also love how open people are to dancing salsa or bachata. Adjusting to Colombian culture was more diffi cult than I expected. It is quite common to stare here, and at fi rst I felt uncomfortable, but now I am used to it. I also used to think it was rude for my students to be showing up late to class, but now I plan accordingly because it’s very normal here.
Q: How has your time abroad infl uenced your future goals?
A: I love having the opportunity to use Spanish every single day and I feel like my ability to comprehend it has increased exponentially. I was not expecting to love teaching as much as I do, and I am considering teaching Spanish for another year or so.
Lilly Thompson (’24)
Study/Research Grant to Latvia
Q: What were the highlights and challenges?
A: One of my favorite experiences was celebrating Latvia’s Independence Day. The city was incredibly festive with candlelight ceremonies, concerts and a military parade. It was a joy to see the enthusiasm and pride many Latvians have for their country and its history.
The hardest challenge was being away from my friends and family; the other challenge was winter. It gets dark from November to January, and seasonal depression hits hard. However, I made sure to go outside every day and do things with my friends during that period, and I made it through.
Q: How has your time abroad influenced your future goals?
A: I wrote my thesis about Baltic populism, and that background was really helpful for my coursework covering Baltic interactions with Russia, the United States and the European Union, and for understanding and recognizing the country’s complex social context. Eventually, I want to work in foreign policy related to Eastern Europe and Russia, and I plan to finish my master’s degree in Latvia.