This month, GHS students might have noticed a group of 23 teachers walking with them from class to class. 

The group arrived in Bozeman in early September from 20 different countries, including Laos, India, Azerbaijan, Nepal, El Salvador, Mali, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan. As recipients of the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) award, they spent time familiarizing themselves with the building, culture, and climate, and helping Gallatin High School’s teachers with lessons. TEA, part of the Fulbright Teacher Exchanges program, brings teachers from 66 different countries together for six weeks to spend time teaching and experiencing the culture of a foreign location. 

Alex Centeno, an English teacher from Nicaragua, and Mildred Haydee Yarrow Llanos, an English teacher from Peru, sat talking on the first floor of the library during lunch when I sat down with them. Both teachers came to Bozeman after what Centeno said was almost a year of waiting for results, without knowing any of the other applicants or where they might be sent to. Since arriving, Mildred has gotten to talk to Hispanic and foreign exchange students, providing them with a rare conversation with a native Spanish speaker.

Back in the library later that week, TEA winners and foreign exchange students had organized a Cultural Appreciation Fair to share their own cultures with Gallatin High students. Lisheyca Vernon teaches English at the Instituto Profesional y Técnico de Capira in Panama, a school that raises produce and livestock to donate to other schools. I asked her about her first impressions of Montana. “The change from hot to cold is very awesome,” she said, referring to our unpredictable weather, adding that, “The people [here] are very kind.” Vernon was also impressed with Bozeman’s free Streamline bus system.

Across the room, Babak Rzazade, a teacher from Azerbaijan, was presenting about the country’s attractions, from their pastries to a museum devoted to (and designed like) carpets.

Fulbright itself, which was founded in 1946 by Arkansas Senator James William Fulbright to build “mutual understanding between nations” and “[advance] knowledge across communities,” is funded by Congress. The program, which awards about 8,000 grants each year, from teacher exchanges to scholarships for university professors, currently has an annual budget of 287.5 million dollars, although recent proposals have aimed to slash up to 71% of funding. Although 57% of Americans say reducing national debt should be “a top priority for the president and Congress,” according to a 2023 Pew Research poll, Fulbright has maintained that budget cuts have the potential to “destroy” Fulbright. However, the Fulbright program enjoys bipartisan support in Congress.

Two professors from MSU, Gretchen Minton and Lindsey Albertson, were awarded a Fulbright Scholarship this year and Gallatin High’s own Noelle Harper received the Teachers for Global Classrooms award after being encouraged to apply by Erica Schnee and Kerri Cobb, two previous winners. Science teacher Steven Riccio is currently in Hanoi, Vietnam as part of a related Fulbright program.

Ms. Schnee “traveled to Brazil and [Ms. Cobb] traveled to Québec and Toronto. They both talked about what an incredible experience it was and how it gave them new perspectives on education,” said Harper. In preparation for her travel next summer, Harper is learning how to think locally and globally (or glocally) at Gallatin High School. Although Harper has not been notified of her destination, she shared,“I’m eager to take what I’ve learned about global education back to Gallatin High and consider ways as a school that we can think and act globally.”