University of North Georgia (UNG) alumna Katie Smith was on her way to a restaurant with a friend when she got the news that she had been chosen as a Fulbright finalist.
"I think we actually went to El Jimador in Dahlonega, Georgia," Smith said. "I was really happy about it and I was surprised."
Smith moved to South Korea in July 2018 to teach English to students as part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The Fulbright program provides students who have at least a bachelor's degree the opportunity to either teach English or conduct research in another country for a year.
It was an exciting moment for Smith to be awarded this opportunity, however, it was extra special because she minored in Korean throughout her collegiate career. She hopes to build on the skills learned at UNG while living in southeast Asia.
"I'm looking forward to working on my Korean language skills and there are a lot of heritage sites I wanted to visit, like palaces and traditional villages and stuff like that," she said. "I'm hoping to get better at Korean."
A native of Adairsville, Georgia, who attended a "small high school with less than 1,000 students in all four grades," Smith came to the Dahlonega Campus seeking the smaller campus environment. Throughout her time at UNG, Smith received a lot of support from the faculty and staff around her, especially with the Fulbright application.
"Especially during the application process, the scholarship office helped me every step of the way," the May 2018 graduate said. "There was so much feedback and so much help."
She graduated in the spring of 2018 with a degree in history. As a history major, Smith recalls having to work on her writing skills, especially for acceptance within the Fulbright program.
"Sometimes there are tests, but most of the times my grades are dependent on a really big paper," she said. "Dr. (Victoria) Hightower along with Dr. (Anastasia) Lin helped my Fulbright Scholarship a lot with writing."
Smith has few fears about her upcoming adventure to South Korea, however, she has been preparing her palette for the new types of food.
"I was also kind of worried about the food for a while, because it's really different. But I've been trying to eat spicier and spicier food," she said.
Her adjustment to spicy foods is the only reluctance she has, other than that Smith is ready to go. She will teach middle school age-students at Hwacheon Middle School.
"I do like to help people," she said. "So, being an English teacher, I want to be the best teacher I can be for my students and help them to learn a lot."
