Applying and Getting Accepted

February 2025-August 2025

People often ask when my Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms journey began.

The easy answer is January 2025, when I completed my application. But the truth is, this journey started years earlier.

My best friend, Karly, participated in the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program in 2019. After hearing about her experience, I knew it was something I wanted to pursue someday. Every year I watched the application open, and every year I convinced myself that life was simply too busy. Between raising two boys, teaching full-time, working additional jobs, and navigating life’s unexpected challenges, there always seemed to be a reason to wait.

Looking back, I realize I was waiting for the “perfect” time.

The perfect time never came.

Instead, life reminded me that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

Early in 2025, I experienced a serious health scare that changed my perspective on more than just my health. Sitting in a hospital bed gave me time to think about the dreams I had continued to put on hold. My sons were older now and becoming independent young men. For the first time, I realized I could travel without worrying about leaving them behind.

That moment became a turning point.

Instead of asking myself, “What if this isn’t the right time?” I began asking, “What if I never give myself the chance?”

So I completed my Fulbright application—from my hospital bed.

Looking back now, that seems almost unbelievable. At the time, it simply felt like something I needed to do. I had spent my career teaching in rural Appalachian Ohio, helping students understand that their local experiences mattered. Long before I had ever heard the term “global competence,” I believed students learned best when they connected their own communities to the larger world around them.

To me, global education has never been about replacing local identity. It’s about helping students recognize that where they come from is valuable and that their voices can contribute to conversations that extend far beyond their hometown.

I poured that belief into my application and then waited.

In June, I received an email letting me know I had been selected as a semifinalist. It was exciting, but it also made everything feel very real. A few weeks later, near the end of July, another email appeared in my inbox.

I had been accepted into the 2025–2026 Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms cohort.

I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude. This opportunity represented so much more than international travel. It was an opportunity to grow as an educator, to learn alongside teachers from across the United States and around the world, and ultimately to bring those experiences back to the students and communities I serve.

Ironically, as my Fulbright journey was beginning, my professional life was changing as well.

When I submitted my application, I was teaching high school English Language Arts and Drama. Before the program officially began, I accepted a new position teaching sixth-grade English Language Arts. It was a significant transition, and I briefly worried that such a major career change might affect my place in the program.

Thankfully, it didn’t.

Instead, Fulbright welcomed me into the cohort in my new role, reminding me that this experience wasn’t tied to a particular classroom or grade level. It was about becoming a stronger educator.

As the onboarding process began, the dream started to feel real. There were forms to complete, meetings to attend, introductions to make, and new colleagues to meet. Each step reminded me that I was becoming part of something much larger than myself.

As I looked ahead to the online coursework that would begin in the fall, I found myself reflecting on the unexpected path that had brought me to this point.

Years earlier, I thought I simply wasn’t ready.

Now I understand that readiness isn’t about having perfect timing or perfect circumstances. Sometimes it’s about having the courage to say yes, even when life feels uncertain.

Submitting that application from a hospital bed was one of the most vulnerable decisions I’ve ever made.

It also became one of the best.

The journey was officially underway, and although I had no idea where it would ultimately lead, I knew one thing for certain: I was ready to learn and grow.