Twelve selected as Fulbright semifinalists
Article By: Denise Ray
Twelve students from the University of North Georgia (大象传媒) were designated Fulbright semifinalist status for 2025-26. They include students from the College of Arts & Letters, Mike Cottrell College of Business and the College of Education.
"We have had a 50-percent semifinalist rate this year, which is incredibly high and very heartening," Dr. Anastasia Lin, assistant vice president for Academic Affairs and director of the Nationally Competitive Scholarships (NCS) Office, said.
The English teaching assistant semifinalists include Tracy Amaya, Aysia Bittinger, Sara Gonzalez, Elena Roberts, Fatima Santillan, Charlotte Sims, Abigail Sutherland, Jenna Thomas, Justin Wlosko, and Jessie Zinn. More details are available in a full listing.
Bittinger, a senior from Augusta, Georgia, is seeking to teach English in Kinmen, Taiwan. She is pursuing degrees in physics and mathematics with a minor in Chinese.
"This experience would allow me to develop my teaching and cross-cultural communication skills. I think it would be invaluable as I prepare for a doctoral degree in physics, and in pursuing my long-term goal of becoming a professor and researcher in physics," she said.
Wlosko is a junior from Cumming, Georgia, pursuing a degree in international affairs with a Korean minor. He is seeking to travel to South Korea to teach English and has several goals he'd like to achieve during his stay if he is selected.
"This experience would allow me to develop my teaching and cross-cultural communication skills. I think it would be invaluable as I prepare for a doctoral degree in physics, and in pursuing my long-term goal of becoming a professor and researcher in physics."
Aysia Bittinger
Fulbright semifinalist
"As someone who animated throughout middle and high school, I want to showcase both American and global animation to my students through my language work. Introducing the nuances of the English language through the medium is something that will both benefit the students and excite me as a teacher," he said. "Beyond work, I plan on participating in the local community. I want to join a music club to continue working on both my singing and saxophone abilities. I feel as though participating in your own hobbies overseas strengthens the passion and authenticity of the experience."
He said he is looking forward to the possibility of immersing himself in Korean culture.
"Getting to ingratiate myself in Korean culture as both a tourist and working professional allows me to see the country through a wider perspective. As someone who has studied the Korean language for over four years, I would get to learn the language much more efficiently in the country that speaks it primarily," he said. "My mom teaches languages, and she's always taught me that it's nearly impossible to consider yourself fluent until you're speaking the language with native speakers in their own country. That's my main goal. I'm hoping to use that language skill in future career prospects."
Grey Nebel and Ethan Post are research semi-finalists.
Post is seeking to go to the United Kingdom, where his goal is to attend Newcastle University and "conduct archaeological survey in search of civic and trade functions at Bamburgh Castle, the royal s