\u201cI have always been attracted to\nBulgaria since a family friend is Bulgarian,\u201d he said. \u201cHearing stories of her\nchildhood in Ruse, Bulgaria, from learning English from a British teacher to\nthe cat fur jacket her father made her, made me want to understand not only the\npeople more, but also the politics of one of the European Union\u2019s newest\nmembers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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In addition to teaching English, Miller\nwill work with the BEST Foundation,\ncoaching speech and debate after school and traveling to speech competitions. He wants to share with Bulgarian students how speech and debate creates people who are engaged, creative and critical thinkers with a voice to go into the world and\nchange it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miller also\nhas plans for engaging with his community through his love of coffee shops and\nconversation and his talent as a photographer. It is a chance, he said, to see\nthe world through a new lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biology major Laura Lillis <\/strong>spent\nher junior year in Mexico at the National Autonomous University of Mexico\n(UNAM) as part of the NAU Global Interdisciplinary Program. The research\nopportunity she stumbled into that year became a chance to help make\nbiopharmaceuticals more affordable and attainable for lower-income people and\ncountries across the globe. Impressed with her work, UNAM\ninvited her to do a master\u2019s degree and continue her research. Lillis turned to\nFulbright for funding to make it possible. While most Fulbright countries fund\none academic year abroad, COMEXUS, the\nFulbright-Garc\u00eda Robles Commission in Mexico, will support up to two years in a\nmaster\u2019s program or up to three years in a doctoral program with strong\nacademic performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile at\nUNAM, I helped to perfect a consistent method of using shockwaves, a physical\nphenomenon, in order to transform fungi so that they would produce complex\ngenetically engineered proteins for use in research and ultimately\npharmacology,\u201d Lillis said. \u201cNow, my UNAM mentors have helped me map out an\nexciting thesis project which will be the next step in a collective line of\nresearch that has the potential to revolutionize the biopharmaceutical\nindustry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lillis is\nlooking forward to continuing her participation with her university and local\ncommunities with activities ranging from helping university students with their\nEnglish, to participating in arts and crafts with children, to learning Latin\ndances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReceiving the Fulbright means I get to continue\ncontributing to the Mexican scientific community and growing in my international\ncompetence while also knowing that I have the support of Fulbright, making me\nand my research a part of something much bigger than myself, a community of\nstudents, scholars, and professionals all over the world working toward mutual\nunderstanding and making the world a better place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a master\u2019s student specializing in teaching\nEnglish as a second language, Megan Wagy<\/strong> has known for years that she\nwanted an international career. The\nFulbright ETA in Brazil will allow her to grow as an educator, enhance her Portuguese and collaborate with professional educators. She will bring her experience from teaching at the university and the elementary level to creating a collaborative classroom environment, while learning how to adapt her teaching skills to this English as a foreign language setting and individualize instruction for her students\u2019 optimal language growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After her teaching assistantship, she wants to continue working in Brazil\nthrough the Regional English Language Office or the English Language\nFellowship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBrazil provides a unique backdrop for learning about English education\nin a foreign environment, while also looking at the impact of cultural and\npolitical factors,\u201d Wagy said. \u201cI want to then pursue a Ph.D. in educational leadership\nwith a focus on the impact of the community in education and work within\neducational systems in Latin American countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wagy is\npassionate about connecting with people and culture and education for all. She\nhopes to help Brazilian educators with their English skills while studying methods used in Brazil to promote literacy development in K-12 language classrooms.\nIn the community she looks forward to markets, festivals, practicing her\nPortuguese and learning Latin dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers\nits participants the unique opportunity to acquire valuable intercultural,\nprofessional and life experience and the chance to make an impact in their local\ncommunity. It is designed to increase mutual\nunderstanding between the people of the United States and those of other\ncountries. It is the preeminent international exchange for U.S. citizens and\nnationals, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.\n\nSeniors, recent graduates and graduate students interested in applying for a Fulbright grant <\/em>next year or\nin the future should contact NAU Fulbright Program Adviser Melissa Hatfield Riggs<\/strong> in the spring\nor early summer at natl_scholarships@nau.edu<\/a>. Candidates prepare applications in the summer, apply in the fall and\ngo abroad the following academic year. \n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Laura](\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Laura-Lillis-300x225.jpg\")
![\"Megan](\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/1-Megan-Wagy-200x300.jpg\")
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