Leah Criss

2022 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grantee

Hometown

West Lafayette, IN

Major

English (Global Context); Linguistics

College

College of Liberal Arts

 

Leah Criss has accepted a grant from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. As part of this storied program dating back to 1946, Leah will join an illustrious group of over 400,000 grantees in Fulbright’s history, all of whom are united by a commitment to intercultural exchange.

Leah received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) grant to teach in Yunlin County, Taiwan. While there, she looks forward to utilizing her English Language in a Global Context major as she teaches elementary school students English as a foreign language. Leah first discovered her interest in supporting students’ language acquisition while running a book club at the West Lafayette Public Library, where she honed her talent for stoking young people’s excitement about language and literacy. She was particularly gratified by how young library users turned to reading as a way of exploring topics to which they might not otherwise have access. Leah now views literacy and language learning as critical tools for forging the foundation for future success.

Taiwan is the ideal location for Leah to conduct her Fulbright ETA. There, she will capitalize on her personal connections to East Asia as well as her minor in Mandarin to immerse herself fully in the community and culture in Yunlin. She is even considering buying a scooter! When Leah concludes her ETA, she plans to continue working with English language learners and international students and scholars of East Asian heritage at the university level.