The Office of Competitive Post-Graduate Fellowships is proud to announce that Jennifer Choi is a 2023-2024 Fulbright Finalist. She has been awarded an English Teaching Award (ETA) for South Korea. Our office caught up with Jennifer to ask her a couple of questions about her experience with applying to Fulbright and what she has planned for her time in Korea.
What made you interested in applying for the Fulbright Scholarship?
As a current public-school teacher in New Jersey, I have long been interested in opportunities to teach abroad, specifically in South Korea. As an American teaching English abroad, I plan to teach English as a means to equip and empower students to grow as multilingual and multicultural beings – that the goal would not be for them to learn English and about American culture at the expense of their native languages and cultures, but rather in addition to them. I was drawn to the Fulbright program because of its emphasis on mutual exchange, the belief that not only do I have something great to offer the local community abroad but also the local community abroad has so much to offer me.
Why should students apply for the Fulbright scholarships?
Beyond the prestige of this program, Fulbright affords a unique opportunity for students to spend time abroad to be able to bring their talents to local communities and to learn from the local communities as well. As a Fulbright grantee, you carry the privilege and responsibility of being an ambassador of the United States while abroad and will be able to bring back so much to whatever professional and personal spaces you occupy upon your return to the U.S. Even if I did not receive the grant, I would be grateful for the Fulbright application process, because it challenged me to articulate my passions and visions for how I could use the experiences and skills I have to make a meaningful contribution moving forward, and it also allowed me to build new connections and strengthen existing ones, in the form of other applicants/recipients, faculty, family, friends, etc. Applying for a Fulbright is valuable in these ways, regardless of the outcome of your application.
What would you advise students to do when applying for the scholarship?
I would advise students who are interested in a Fulbright to seek all the resources they can! The TCNJ Fellowships Office in particular offers various workshops and Q&A sessions for potential applicants to learn more about the application process and ask questions. I would advise students to try to attend as many of these as possible and to get connected with the Fellowships Office! For students who decide to proceed with applying for a Fulbright, I would encourage them to take time to really think about and develop their vision as to why Fulbright, before they write out their grant statements, seek recommendations, etc. Applying for a Fulbright is a very lengthy and involved process, so it’s important to understand why it is worth doing for each individual. Lastly, I would advise students to reach out to trusted TCNJ faculty, friends, family, etc. to have them look over your written statements and provide feedback! I am deeply indebted to all of the individuals in my life who took the time to do this for me. I don’t see this achievement as an individual effort, but rather one that I share with everyone who came alongside me in the process.
What are some words of encouragement for individuals seeking any scholarship, what helped you the most during your process?
A word of encouragement I would share is that you are not limited to your time in college to apply for a Fulbright. From my understanding, many people apply for a Fulbright to complete their grants shortly after graduation, often before going to graduate school or before starting their professional careers. However, I graduated from TCNJ several years ago and applied for a Fulbright after about 3 years of working professionally. For some individuals, the “right” time to do a Fulbright grant may be right after graduation, but for others, the “right” time may be a few years down the line. Another word of encouragement is to not be afraid to reach out and ask questions! When I was working on my application last summer, I had the privilege of being able to connect with Gabriella Son, a TCNJ student who had received a Fulbright ETA grant to South Korea for the previous application cycle. She was willing to answer all of my questions and to connect me with other grant recipients who were equally responsive! I was grateful for the responsiveness and encouragement of the Fulbright community even as an applicant.
The Fellowships Office wishes Jennifer the best on her journey in South Korea and would be hearing from her soon!