Jessica Jue Awarded Fulbright to Teach English in Taiwan

Biological sciences graduate Jessica Jue was selected as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Taiwan. Jue left in June to participate in the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship program in Changchun, China. From there, she settled in Kinmen, Taiwan, this month to begin her teaching duties.

Being selected as a Fulbright Scholar was a “dream come true,” said Jue, after originally being chosen as an alternate. She wanted to pursue the Fulbright program to make an impact on her host community while also broadening her own world view. While she is nervous to be away from friends and family for a year, Jue knows that the experience will be full of opportunities.

"Studying abroad helps you understand the lives and culture of people unlike yourself. It makes you more understanding of differences and compassionate toward others."

Jue is particularly excited to spend the next year abroad immersed in Chinese, which she has studied since childhood and as an additional major at Carnegie Mellon University.

"For me, participating in the Fulbright program in Taiwan will not only be a cultural exchange, but a linguistic one as well," she said.

Following her Fulbright, Jue plans to apply for medical school and appreciates being able to pursue these two unrelated academic interests as an undergraduate.

"I feel like the interdisciplinary environment of the school allowed me to be pre-med yet also pursue interests like teaching and learning Chinese. If I were confined to 'traditional' pre-med activities, I don't think I would have found the Fulbright program," she said.

At Carnegie Mellon, Jue was a teaching assistant’s assistant for Physics I and a teaching assistant for Carnegie Mellon’s Summer Academy of Math and Science; she was a sister of Kappa Delta Phi, president of the Multicultural Greek Council and a volunteer for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Hospital Elder Life Program in Shadyside.

She looks forward to bringing her background in teaching and working with students to Taiwan, but she is also excited to gain experiences and build skills that can aid her as a medical professional.

"(Studying abroad) helps you understand the lives and culture of people unlike yourself. It makes you more understanding of differences and compassionate toward others," she said.

Jue is thankful to both Richelle Bernazzoli, assistant director of undergraduate research and national fellowships, and Tim Gao, a 2017 Carnegie Mellon alumnus, for helping her through the Fulbright process. Gao, who was her former biochemistry EXCEL leader, taught English in Taiwan through the Fulbright ETA program from 2017-2018.

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors the Fulbright U.S. Student Program to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries."