Riley Parks, LAS ’26, Secondary Education, was one of seven University of Illinois students selected to receive a Fulbright Grant as part of the U.S. Student Program.
She will use her Fulbright award to teach English in Taiwan — another step in her journey to become an interculturally skilled teacher. Parks previously studied in Asia as a Gilman International Scholarship recipient, teaching K-6 students at an urban school in Thailand. Working with these students cemented her desire to become a teacher and to pursue more extensive teaching experience through the Fulbright program.
Parks has received a graduate fellowship from the University of Washington to study early childhood education administration and policy upon her return from Taiwan. She plans to incorporate Taiwanese teaching methods into American public school classrooms and create a pen pal or extracurricular program that will facilitate cross-cultural communication between her current U.S. students and her former students in Taiwan.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program builds international relationships to help solve global challenges. This flagship international educational exchange program of the U.S. government awards grants to students based on their academic and professional achievement as well as their ambassadorial skills and leadership potential. The Fulbright student program will fund more than 2,000 U.S. citizens to live abroad for the 2026-27 academic year.
