Hayley Lanier is a biologist. She specializes in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Oklahoma. The 2025/2026 academic year, however, is taking her far from campus. Together with her husband and their two school-aged children, she is spending the year in the small Czech village of Liběchov, home to about 1,000 residents. Less than an hour’s drive from Prague, the village hosts the Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, where Hayley is conducting research as a Fulbright Program Scholar. Her work focuses on how population history shapes genomic adaptation to climate change. But beyond the lab, the year is also an adventure for the whole family. What is it like to settle into life in the Czech countryside and to experience local traditions and holidays along the way? “But will Santa be able to find us?” When we planned to move to Czechia for my year-long Fulbright my 3-year-old, Iggy, had some very pressing concerns about how holidays and birthdays would happen in ...
Petra Junková is an English language teacher. She began this school year at the University of Northern Colorado as a participant in the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Program. Her connection with Fulbright began in 2022, when she mentored an English Teaching Assistant from Chesterfield, Missouri — an experience that reshaped her professional path. "It’s the difference between learning a language and truly living it," Petra reflects. Motivated to continue her professional growth, she found the Fulbright TEA Program to be the perfect next step. Today, back at Gymnázium U Balvanu in Jablonec nad Nisou, she encourages other Czech educators to pursue similar opportunities: "You become a student again — exploring pedagogy, social studies, and new technologies — while experiencing the life of an American high school teacher firsthand. It equips you with practical tools, global connections, and the confidence to innovate in your own classroom." “Do you ...