Eoin Gronningsater was recently named a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) grant recipient for the 2024-2025 year in Spain. He participated in the ACE in Vietnam program in 2018, was a member of the Duke Fencing Team, and graduated from Duke in 2020. Since graduating from Duke, Eoin has been working as a math and ELA learning specialist at Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy 2 Middle School in New York City. During his Fulbright year, Eoin will teach English at a university about 20 minutes outside of Madrid. Eoin is the fourth ACE alum to receive a Fulbright award. In the following interview, he shares more about his upcoming Fulbright experience and how ACE impacted his decision to apply. Eoin was also featured in a July 2024 GoDuke article, “Gronningsater Receives Fulbright ETA Grant.”
ACE: Can you tell us about your Fulbright award and what you’ll be doing? What is your proposed community project?
Eoin: I have been selected as a recipient of the Fulbright Spain ETA grant, which means that I will be teaching English in Spain! I have been assigned to teach at a University (UCJC) about 15-20 minutes outside of central Madrid. While the bulk of my service will be dedicated to teaching English at the university, I also plan to get involved in the local community through a number of other avenues. I am hoping to start a fencing club at the university (if funding allows), and I am also hoping to join a fencing club in Madrid. In addition, I am planning to work with younger students in the community outside of school hours to explore how educational technology programs can be utilized to enhance new language acquisition among youth populations.
ACE: What are you most excited about for your upcoming Fulbright experience?
Eoin: I am most excited to experience an entirely new culture, and to become more proficient in Spanish. One of the reasons that I love education is because I feel there are so many different ways to approach learning/teaching, and I believe it is so important to be exposed to a number of other educational philosophies and environments to expand your own skill set and perspective. I am excited to meet new people who I can continue to learn from and collaborate with, and I am excited to see education in a new light.
ACE: How did your ACE experience influence your decision to apply for the Fulbright award?
Eoin: My ACE experience has significantly influenced my journey in education since graduating. ACE was a big reason that I decided to become a teacher in the first place, as it helped me to see how rewarding teaching is. During ACE I experienced the challenges, complexity, and beauty of cross-cultural collaboration, and that experience instilled in me the desire to work in new and unfamiliar environments. ACE taught me that while new environments pose challenges, they also present us with the opportunity for tremendous growth and development. I hope that Fulbright continues to build on the skills and growth that ACE initiated.
ACE: Did you highlight any particular skills or insights from your ACE experience in your Fulbright application process?
Eoin: I think that during ACE I recognized that there are always aspects of education that will extend beyond your control. I learned that while it is frustrating at times to feel powerless, it is most important to leverage the strengths that you possess in order to control the things that are within your power. I also learned that it is possible to create strong, lasting relationships even when there is a language barrier. Initially, I feared it would be difficult to create strong relationships with my Vietnamese students; however, I quickly recognized that facial expressions, shared experiences, and collective goals quickly overpower language barriers and set the stage for powerful relationships to develop. I think that one thing that I learned in my ACE experience that made my Fulbright application stand out is that education is a lifetime journey. There is no beginning or end, and that is the beauty of investing time and energy into education. There is always more to learn, and there is always more to experience.
ACE: Can you share a memorable moment or lesson from your time in ACE in Vietnam that you think will be particularly relevant or useful during your Fulbright experience?
Eoin: One particularly strong memory I have from teaching in Vietnam was working through challenges when collaborating with my Vietnamese co-teacher. Initially, we had a difficult time engaging our students, and we were attempting to find fun and interesting ways to keep the students engaged. My Vietnamese co-teacher learned English through educational strategies focused on rote memorization and consistent studying. While this had worked for my colleague, I feared that it was not working with our students. As I suggested alternative ways to engage the students through movement activities and games, my co-teacher was hesitant as my ideas did not align with her understanding of how education/teaching generally looks. However, as we continued to work together, we found ways to incorporate both of our ideas into our classroom in ways that were fun and engaging but were still built around structured practice and repetition. As a result, this experience helped me to recognize that my perspective will inevitably differ from those with different lived experiences; however, that does not mean that you cannot find common ground and ways to integrate distinct ideas in a manner that is effective and supportive for the students.
ACE: What advice would you give to other ACE alums who are considering applying for the Fulbright award?
Eoin: My advice for those who wish to apply to Fulbright is first and foremost, get way out ahead of the application. The Fulbright application has very specific requirements, and it is essential to give yourself ample time to ensure that you have only the necessary components by the application deadline. The second piece of advice that I would offer is to tell your educational story throughout your application. That does not mean you need to try and say everything all at once in your personal statement, but you can use the different components of the application as an opportunity to highlight different experiences and opportunities. Lastly, be sure to be specific in your application. Talk about the specific region/country/demographic you want to work with, and make a strong case to demonstrate why you are the right person to do that. Additionally, Duke has a dedicated office that supports current students and alumni as they apply to fellowships or other programs. USE THESE RESOURCES! The Duke Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships (NCS) offers really useful guidance, and they will help you to ensure you have all of the necessary components for your application.
For more information about the Fulbright program and applying at Duke, please visit the Nationally Competitive Scholarships (NCS) website here.