Six recent UConn graduates were selected as finalists for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The program provides grants for individually designed study and research projects or for English teaching assistantships around the world. Students meet, work, live with, and learn from people in the host country, sharing daily experiences.
Izzi Geller ’19 (CLAS) will study United States-Mexico relations in Mexico as part of her master’s program. Geller majored in political science at UConn and is a high school English and social studies teacher at the Metropolitan Business Academy in New Haven.
“The Fulbright is an opportunity to deepen my practice as an educator and dig deeper into what it might mean to practice culturally sustaining teaching alongside high school students,” says Geller.
Karen Lau ’25 (CLAS) is a native of Norwich and graduated as a member of the Honors Program with majors in economics, Asian-American studies, and history. She will be an English teaching assistant (ETA) in Taiwan for her Fulbright.
“Being a Fulbright Taiwan ETA means being committed to strengthening binational relations between the U.S. and Taiwan, fostering mutual cultural understanding, and making a positive contribution to my host community and school,” says Lau. “I am excited to build connections with my students, learn about their dreams and goals, and help them grow as readers and writers using Taiwanese-American literature.”
Lau was a University and BOLD Women’s Leadership Network scholar at UConn and an undergraduate fellow at the UConn Humanities Institute. She also was the recipient of IDEA and Change grants.
Lynna Vo ’24 (ED), ’25 MA is a resident of Middlefield and recently completed her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with a graduate certificate in educating bilingual learners. She earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education with a math focus and minor in human development and family sciences.
She will be an ETA in Vietnam for her Fulbright.
“As a Vietnamese-American and future educator, being a Fulbright U.S. Scholar is deeply personal,” says Vo. “It is a bridge-building journey that allows me to honor and better understand my family’s cultural roots while exploring Vietnam as both a teacher and a learner. As an ETA, I have the opportunity to foster meaningful dialogue, uplift student voices, and create reciprocal learning spaces. It’s a transformative step in becoming a more empathetic, compassionate, and culturally responsive educator.”
At UConn, Vo gained classroom experience in the Glastonbury, Hartford, and Manchester public school systems. She was president of the Vietnamese Student Association and a member of the leadership team of the New England Intercollegiate Vietnamese Student Association.
Julian Cote-Dorado ’24 (CLAS) earned a Fulbright, but accepted an appointment to the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals for the 2025-26 academic year
Andrew Kim ’25 (CLAS) also earned a Fulbright, but will enroll in the linguistics doctoral program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a member of the Honors Program at UConn.
