Winona State University is pleased to announce that Lauren Myrlie, Class of 2024, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award to serve as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Bulgaria for the 2025-2026 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
“After a lot of hard work, I am incredibly honored, blessed, and excited to share that I’ve been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship grant to Bulgaria! I’ll be teaching English to 8th-12th grade students in Sofia, the capital city, and collaborating closely with the Bulgarian English Speech and Debate Tournament (BEST) Foundation as a speech judge and coach,” Lauren said.
“Beyond the classroom, I’m looking forward to immersing myself in Bulgarian culture, exploring the country’s rich history and landscapes, traveling throughout Europe, and deepening my understanding of the Bulgarian language in an authentic environment,” she said.
“A heartfelt thank you to Renee Stowell from the WSU Study Abroad office, as well as to my friends, family, and everyone who supported me throughout the application process,” said Lauren.
Winona State has had three other Fulbright U.S. Student Program Finalists in the past five years, one Study/Research award and two English Teaching awards.
More than 2,000 Fulbright U.S. Students — recent college graduates, graduate students, and early career professionals — pursue graduate study, conduct research or teach English in schools abroad each year.
They are recognized alongside more than 800 faculty, researchers, administrators, and established professionals who teach or conduct research in affiliation with institutes abroad annually through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Fulbrighters form ongoing research collaborations and lay the groundwork for future partnerships between institutions.
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided over 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds with the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. Fulbrighters exchange ideas, build people-to-people connections, and work to address complex global challenges. Notable Fulbrighters include 62 Nobel Laureates, 93 Pulitzer Prize winners, 82 MacArther Fellows, 44 heads of state or government, and thousands of leaders across the private, public, and non-profit sectors.
Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which has operated in over 160 countries worldwide. In the United States, the Institute of International Education implements the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.
For more information on Fulbright opportunities for WSU students and faculty, please see https://www.winona.edu/academics/study-abroad/fulbright-program/
