CALDWELL, Idaho — A recent College of Idaho graduate has received a Fulbright Scholarship which will allow him to travel overseas for a teaching program.
Armando Guerrero graduated with two bachelor's degrees in Anthropology and Sociology with minors in Journalism, French, and Human Bio.
Born in Michoacán, Mexico and raised in Caldwell, he said his family encouraged him to pursue higher education.
“They really emphasized it. My sister, she was the first person who graduated from C of I actually,” Guerrero said. “ I had people try to talk me out of coming here because they didn’t believe me. Luckily, my sister believed in me and my family believed in me, and I believed in myself to come here.”
Guerrero is thesecond student from the College of Idaho to be awarded the Fulbright scholarship and be part of an English teaching assistant program. He will be traveling in August to La Coruña, a city in the Galicia region Northwest of Spain.
“What I reviewed from the grant, it says they want us to teach about U.S. culture. They want us to share our unique perspectives because each individual was chosen for a special reason. I want to specialize in pop-cultural teaching, documentaries, music, contemporary stuff that the kids can relate to and through that, I’m going to teach English,” he said.
Guerrero is grateful for the opportunity as he enjoys traveling and appreciates the support from his family and teachers.
“I don’t know any other Latinx student who’s in the position as me, as a first-gen, Fulbright student. Hopefully, I can be someone's mentor, and hopefully, this will motivate any marginalized person to reach for their dreams. There’s nothing stopping us. Just because we don't see people like ourselves in spaces, that doesn’t mean they're not for us,” Guerrero said.
According to the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), the Fulbright Program works as an international academic exchange program and each year about 8,000 students, teachers, artists are awarded to be able to participate in it.
According to ECA’s website:
The Fulbright Program was created in 1946 in the aftermath of World War II through legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, passed by the U.S. Congress, and signed into law by President Harry Truman. Since its inception, over 400,000 Fulbrighters from the United States and 165 countries, supported by the American people and partner governments around the world, have studied, taught, and conducted research in each other’s countries while promoting international understanding and collaboration as participants and alumni. The creation of, and sustained support for, the Fulbright Program reflects a shared global vision for peaceful relations among nations.
