Recent alumna earns Fulbright U.S. Student Program English Teaching Assistantship, will teach in the Canary Islands

By Emily Valmana

Recent Florida State University graduate Mia Hernandez experienced intense anticipation after she initially applied for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program English Teaching Assistantship.

Hernandez submitted her completed application in October 2022, just a few months after graduating with dual bachelor’s degrees in English-Editing, Writing, and Media and in psychology. The tedious process had taken Hernandez several months, with countless revisions to her personal statement essays and concurrent meetings with FSU’s Office of National Fellowships becoming a part of her regular routine.

While the process for writing and editing her application materials took six months, she says, her acceptance had been at least two years in the making.

Hernandez had been preparing herself by adding Spanish as a minor, pushing herself to become more extroverted, tutoring local English for Other Languages Speakers students, doing extensive research, and being in contact with ONF for up to two years prior to her application submission.

Knowing how rigorous the application process was, paired with the program’s low acceptance rate, “surreal” was the best way for Hernandez to describe how she felt upon reading her acceptance email in April of 2023.

“I was sitting in my car in the parking lot for my new job,” she says. “Hearing I was a finalist and got the assistantship was a cool moment. I cried in my car and immediately called my mom before calling another friend [fellow FSU alumna, Michelle Perez] to see if she also got in, which she did, and we screamed over the phone together. It was a cool moment finding out that we got in at the same time.

“I had to stop and not only acknowledge the work it took for me to get there, but also to thank everyone who had supported my journey.”

The Fulbright Program is an internationally respected educational cultural exchange program, known for its opportunities for valuable cultural insights. Hernandez knew that the way she had been picturing her life post-graduation up until that moment would drastically be altered.

I definitely would not have felt comfortable applying for this position had it not been for my English degree.

— Mia Hernandez

Hernandez will embark on her Fulbright experience beginning September 2023, when she moves to the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous community in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Western Africa, to begin her English teaching assistantship. She will teaching for nine months at an elementary school in Telde, a municipality in Gran Canaria, one of the larger islands.

“One of the reasons I applied to the Canary Islands was because most of the assistantships the islands offered were in elementary schools, and I have always loved working with younger children,” Hernandez says. “I also applied to the Canaries because of their significant refugee population. Coming from a family of immigrants, this cause felt close to home.”

In addition to teaching English to elementary school students, she also will conduct a podcast project in which she will spotlight numerous refugee aid organizations in the area to connect both residents and nonresidents to resources within the community. Ultimately, she is aiming for her podcast to provide more visibility for the available resources for refugee aid.

“Each podcast episode will spotlight a different aid organization by interviewing a representative, delving into their personal experiences, the non-profit’s history, and main focuses, and how locals and non-locals can get involved,” Hernandez says.

She plans to produce these episodes on a biweekly or monthly schedule, and she is exploring the possibility of making the episodes bilingual so that English and non-English speakers alike will be able to tune in.

“Just with the fact that I will be in a location where English is not the main language spoken, I feel a responsibility to make this information accessible to non-English speakers,” she says.

Hernandez is of Cuban heritage, and she is excited to dive into a Spanish-speaking culture. She views this opportunity as not only a way to make a positive impact in the community and to learn from the culture but also to reconnect with her own Spanish ancestry. Having grown up in a predominantly white, non-Hispanic area of Miramar, Florida, she says she felt disconnected in the past from her Cuban side, and she wants to improve her Spanish while also engaging with her heritage.

“I know my Spanish isn’t perfect, and I’m going to make some mistakes, but I want to embrace the embarrassing moments and learn from the journey altogether, all while bonding with coworkers, fellow Fulbrighters, and the community at large,” she explains.

Hernandez says her English and psychology majors, along with minors in humanities and Spanish, had direct impacts on what she wanted to do after graduation as well as her decision to apply for a Fulbright fellowship.

“I definitely would not have felt comfortable applying for this position had it not been for my English degree,” Hernandez explains.

Her coursework through the editing, writing, and media track of the English major helped her feel confident to take on a position where she could effectively teach English to non-English speakers. She also is currently finishing the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages certificate program at FSU, which will boost her confidence in being able to excel in her upcoming role as an English teacher.

During the two years it took to prepare herself for this experience, Hernandez says she built a skillset of knowledge that she could have applied to any aspect of her future career goals, even if she did not earn the fellowship. Therefore, the application process on its own was a valuable learning experience regardless of the outcome.

Hernandez advises any prospective Fulbright applicant to have a well-conceived project proposal and thoughtfully written application materials, especially the personal statement aspect of the application. Hernandez also recommends contacting FSU’s Office of National Fellowships for assistance for every step of the application process.

“I cannot express enough how much I would not have gotten this fellowship were it not for the continued support and hard work of ONF, particularly that of my mentor, Bonnie Garcia-Gloeckner,” Hernandez says. “The knowledge and guidance of ONF is a game changer for anyone applying for an award, grant or scholarship. Please, go check them out.”

Hernandez reiterates the importance of doing your research, building your skillset prior to applying, and keeping your options open, as what is learned for this program can be applied to many other programs and career paths.

“I’m really excited to delve into the world of teaching English abroad,” she says. “With any luck, I can continue to expand myself personally and professionally in this field and even use my experience working with refugees in the Canary Islands as a foundation for teaching English immigrant communities when I return to the U.S.”

Now that Hernandez has earned the Fulbright fellowship, she can now begin to anticipate spending almost a year in the Canary Islands.

Keep an eye out for Mia’s podcast: Good Going!, which will focus on change makers, risk takers, and do-gooders alike, premiering later this year on multiple streaming platforms. The Instagram account is @goodgoingpod.

Emily Valmana is a senior who is double majoring in Editing-Writing and Media and in psychology. She graduates at the end of the Summer 2023.

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