Fulbright Reality Czech

Kateřina Kallus Brychová is a high school teacher. She teaches English at Gymnázium Brno nicknamed "Jaroška." In the summer of 2023, Kateřina participated in the Fulbright SUSI Program (SUSI stands for Study of the US Institutes for Secondary Educators) aimed at school administrators interested in  sociocultural understanding, equitable learning communities, and diversity and inclusion in U.S. education and society. Participants from 20 different countries representing five different continents spent four weeks of the program at California State University in Chico. They took part in multiple seminars and workshops facilitated by university faculty, as well as external experts, toured numerous sites throughout Northern California, and visited schools to explore varied educational paths in California. For the fifth and final week of the Institute, the participants spent a couple of days in Chicago, Illinois and in Washington, D.C. to experience different regions of the U.S. an...

Hannah Pontari is a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at Matiční Gymnázium in Ostrava, Czech Republic. A recent graduate from Villanova University, where she studied Political Science and Public Administration, Hannah is interested in education policy, specifically the equitable internationalization of the American school system. Hannah, the daughter of a first-generation college student who instilled in her the values of education and travel very early in life, eagerly pursued the opportunity to immerse herself in an international educational context through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Hannah plans to apply her knowledge from teaching abroad to her studies at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education when she returns to the United States in June. This past February, I had the incredibly exciting opportunity to attend the annual Fulbright EU-NATO Seminar in Luxembourg and Brussels as a representative for the Czech Republic Fulbright Commission. As a sel...

Aidan Uvanni is an active-duty United States Coast Guard officer and currently a full-time master’s degree student of Water and Environmental Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague. He focuses on water management and rainfall-runoff modeling. Aidan is one of a few Fulbrighters who has stayed in the host country for over one year. In September 2022, he started his graduate program as a Fulbright U.S. student and chose to extend beyond his grant for this academic year. When not in school, Aidan enjoys indoor rock climbing and exploring the city by bike or on foot. He is an active volunteer at a local Czech middle school and practices English conversation with a group of Ukrainian teenagers. Prior to his Fulbright grant, Aidan served aboard USCGC Polar Star, deploying to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2022. After graduation, he will continue his service in the United States Coast Guard as an Executive Officer of a smaller icebreaker. This interview is the ...