Ava Kuiper is a recent alumna of the University of Michigan and a current 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Student grant awardee. Originally from Kalamazoo, she graduated in May of 2025 with a BS in Biomolecular Science and Spanish and a minor in Multidisciplinary Design from the College of Engineering. After graduating, she moved to Puebla, Mexico in August as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA). She plans to begin medical school in 2026 and later work in academic medicine at the intersection of clinical practice, research, and education.
My experience with the Fulbright program has been nothing short of amazing. From seeing my students' progress in the classroom to forming connections with local Poblanos on the city bus, on campus, or in my dance classes, I am reminded every day how lucky I am to be here. I was placed in Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA). I teach English to undergraduate and graduate students at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. Given my background in STEM, I also teach general and organic chemistry to first-year engineering students. My role is to expose students to scientific concepts and STEM vocabulary in English in these classes. I feel so fortunate to be able to teach science because this responsibility is unique in comparison to other Fulbright ETAs, most of whom primarily focus on teaching English. None of the aforementioned roles would have been possible without the support of my mentor and colleague, Dr. Hugo Vázquez Lima, who helps me design activities and brainstorm real-world examples to teach both chemistry and English at the same time.
Before starting my Fulbright grant, I didn't necessarily see myself incorporating teaching into my future career. Fulbright changed that. I learned that I love the classroom. I gain great value from interacting with my students, witnessing their progress, and being challenged by their questions, in turn learning more about the topic myself. Going forward, I plan to pursue a career as a physician in academic medicine. Aside from seeing patients or conducting research, though, I now know that I also want to work in medical education to help teach the next generation of clinicians.
Outside of the classroom, I keep busy with three research studies and my Fulbright community side project. I am working with professors at my placement university on two chemistry education studies and one basic science project, all of which we hope to publish by the end of the school year. For my community project, I am collaborating with some of my colleagues to put on science fairs at local middle schools. Our goal is to facilitate learning and spark interest in STEM through experiments that students can recognize and digest. So far, we have held five fairs with 5-6 stations each, among those using cabbage as an acid/base indicator and extracting the DNA of a banana. Seeing students develop a better understanding of the science behind the natural phenomena they encounter every day—and for some, a newfound interest in STEM—has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
