Natasha Agrawal MEd ’10 was selected for the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short Term Program. This summer, she will travel to Nepal and spend six weeks training teachers in the small town of Dhangadhi.
Agrawal teaches English as a Second Language at Robbins Elementary School in Trenton and is also an instructor in TCNJ’s Department of Special Education, Language, and Literacy where she teaches courses in curriculum, methods, and assessments for ESL/bilingual education, and theory and practice of teaching ESL.
In Dhangadhi, a town in southwest Nepal that shares a border with India, she will teach and demonstrate lessons for elementary school faculty in a local school.
“It’s everything from classroom management to social-emotional learning to teaching phonics, reading, and writing,” Agrawal said.
Agrawal is one of 20 U.S. citizens who will travel to 14 countries around the world in 2024 as part of this program, which sends expert K–12 educators to participating countries to support projects in schools. As a Fulbrighter, Agrawal will share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States and Nepal.
Previously, Agrawal participated in Fulbright’s Teachers for Global Classrooms program, where she spent time in training and learning from educators in Morocco. She also traveled to Egypt through the State Department’s English Language Fellow Program.
“I want to say ‘thank you’ to TCNJ for giving me such a solid foundation in understanding education, and to the faculty who supported me in my career,” Agrawal said. “I’ve had mentors and supporters who pushed me and encouraged me, even visiting me while I was abroad.” She is especially thankful to Jean Wong, associate professor emerita, for her advice and assistance.
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from over 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.