Adriana Figueroa awarded a Fulbright to Thailand

From the moment I stepped on campus, I quickly became engaged with the community. I participated in clubs such as the Hispanic College Awareness Program (HCAP) and College Mentors for Kids. I was part of the first United Nations Millennium Fellowship program at UNC Charlotte. My team and I organized workshops for high school students that focused on topics such as personal finance and lifestyle skills. Additionally, I worked on Capitol Hill in the House of Representatives with a non-profit organization called the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. I also worked with the American Civil Liberties Union-Puerto Rico chapter and Proyecto 85 to help increase voter turnout in the 2020 elections. I graduated with two bachelor’s degrees, in International Studies and Political Science.

Fulbright is a U.S. Department of State program that offers programs where they send recent graduates or graduate students to other countries to conduct research or teach English. As an English Teaching Assistant, the recipient will aid the school or college they are placed in by teaching English, offering after-school English programs, and helping out in summer camps. Starting September 25, 2023, I will embark on my Fulbright journey as ETA in Thailand.

I will spend a month training in Bangkok where I will learn how to teach English as a foreign language and take Thai classes. I will then travel to my placement in Chanthaburi where I will teach at an elementary school for a year. Thailand’s Fulbright ETA program is different from other countries because it gives us the opportunity to do a month-long internship in a non-profit or company.