Two College of Education alumni are currently immersing themselves in the cultures of Taiwan and Spain as part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
Taj Mack-Pete M ’25, ’24, an elementary education and Call Me MiSTER® alumnus who earned a master’s degree through teacher residency, is now in Taipei, Taiwan, where he will foster community engagement through service-learning projects and share American traditions with students.
Meanwhile, Chloe Milkowski ’25, another elementary education major, is arriving in Galicia, Spain, to serve in her Fulbright teaching assistantship. Milkowski will teach English in Galicia’s plurilingual schools, where she plans to use Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) methods into her instruction.
Although Mack-Pete and Milkowski are a 22-hour flight away from one another and experiencing wildly different cities, both are excited about experiencing an extended amount of time in cultures they’ve been fascinated with for years. They also share a love of travel, with previous study abroad experiences igniting their interests in the Fulbright program.
“I initially had no plans to travel abroad, especially when I would normally be starting a job in the classroom,” Mack-Pete said, “but it was an experience through Call Me MiSTER in Egypt and a later trip to Japan inspired by my brother’s time stationed in Okinawa that truly sparked my love for travel.”
Mack-Pete considered Italy or Costa Rica destinations for a Fulbright assistantship but settled on the East Asia region because of a longstanding interest that started with his fourth-grade Chinese teacher. Her kindness and cooking–she often made dumplings for the class–left a lasting impression on him. Mack-Pete studied Chinese through high school, although he expects the language barrier to be challenging due to Taipei’s strong local dialect.
Mack-Pete wants to improve his teaching skills through the experience and feels it would be ideal preparation for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) certification. He also looks forward to the challenge of teaching English while working to incorporate the students’ own culture, which he will experience firsthand.
Mack-Pete is the first in his family to graduate from a four-year college or travel internationally, so he hopes to inspire younger students or family members to reach for rare opportunities.
“I’ve grown really familiar with Clemson, which I will cherish, but it’s time to get comfortable in the uncomfortable,” Mack-Pete said. “The Fulbright program provides language camps, and I’m spending time on Duolingo and researching culture beforehand, but it will be a challenge, and I’m looking forward to that.”
Like Mack-Pete, Milkowski isn’t going into her experience in Spain with no history in the language. She can read, write and hold conversations in Spanish. However, she would not describe herself as fluent or familiar with the Galician dialect, something she hopes to remedy by the end of her Fulbright experience. Milkowski will serve as a language assistant in classrooms with a Spanish teacher present, so while immersing herself in a new culture, she will help students immerse themselves in the English language.
Milkowski completed her student teaching at a language academy in Greenville, South Carolina, an experience she said strengthened her interest in bilingual education. The student placement experience was similar to what she would be doing in Galicia, and she even met a teacher from who had completed the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program in the U.S., which was similar to the Fulbright program.
“I really think everything happens for a reason, and it wasn’t lost on me that I was placed in an academy that was so similar to what is waiting for me in Galicia,” Milkowski said. “I also had faculty who helped me so much through the process. I know some people can get frustrated with a language barrier, but I like to take on the challenge of going to an everyday place like a grocery store, talking to people there in their native language and succeeding in that.”
The grocery store experience was one Milkowski checked off her achievement list while studying abroad in Italy, so she brings that same goal to Spain. Because the Fulbright program will afford her far more time to explore Galicia, she wants to focus on the local culture–she will be living in the coastal city of A Coruña–and explore its history and landmarks such as the Tower of Hercules, a military fortress built to repel Norman and Viking raiders that dates back to the Middle Ages.
Although Milkowski has planned for years to follow in her mother’s footsteps to become a school administrator, she is open to a career in international teaching.
“Honestly, I didn’t even expect to be able to be involved in this program, so I know things may change and another opportunity may come up,” Milkowski said. “For now, I’m just super excited to experience this and figure the rest out.”
According to Michelle Cook, senior associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Education, Mack-Pete and Milkowski genuinely deserve the Fulbright selection due to their individual achievements and commitment to all learners regardless of background or native language.
Cook said Mack-Pete’s achievement is extraordinary because it highlights the powerful connection between preparation and purpose, and his background in Clemson’s Teacher Residency Program and Call Me MiSTER will resonate far beyond his Fulbright year in Taiwan. She said Milkowski’s selection as a Fulbright scholar speaks to her academic excellence and her heart for multilingual learners; her preparation in Clemson’s education program ensures she will enter Galicia’s plurilingual schools with the skills to make an immediate impact.
“These two students represent the very best of Clemson: scholars who pair intellectual rigor with global curiosity,” Cook said. “Taj’s experience in the classroom and passion for service will translate well as he grows as a global educator, while Chloe will position herself to shape all of her future teaching in multilingual education wherever she decides to teach.”