Vince Moran, a 2014 University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, with majors of English, history and film studies, has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Mexico for the 2017-18 academic year.
Moran applied for the program because he wants to teach Spanish-speaking immigrant populations in the United States – a path influenced by his experience growing up in Scottsbluff, where he witnessed challenges faced by minorities. Moran also said he believes the relationship between the United States and Mexico is particularly important.
The Fulbright Program, established in 1946 and funded by the U.S. Department of State, is designed to foster understanding between the United States and other countries. The U.S. Student Fulbright program gives recent graduates, graduate students and young professionals the opportunity to conduct research, study, or teach in one of 160 designated countries. Recipients such as Moran are awarded the Fulbright on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as their potential for leadership in their fields.
Moran previously studied abroad in England for six months.
“My time there, and the amazing community of international people I got to know, gave me a passion for living in other countries,” he said.
He followed that experience with a backpacking trip through New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia and Australia. He is currently finishing his second year teaching English in Majorca, Spain.
For his community outreach project, Moran plans to organize a film club. He said he hopes to explore the relationship between Mexico and the United States by highlighting aspects of their cultures and histories through film.
“I believe film’s powerful ability to transmit ideas and emotions through sound and images offers the perfect starting point for a discussion about Mexican-American relations,” he said.
Moran sees this ETA in Mexico as an opportunity to continue his personal development and to gain more teaching experience.
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to participate and share the culture of the United States with my students and community, in exchange for the cultural integration I will experience while living there,” he said.
