Olivia Gorrell

The Award

The Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award to Germany provides help to local English teachers by placing applicants in classrooms of all ages and in a variety of geographical settings. The applicants not only help teach the English language but also serve as cultural ambassadors for the United States.

At Baylor 

Olivia graduated with a Bachelor’s of Music degree in Piano Performance and a Secondary Major in German. She was president of Baylor’s chapter of Delta Phi Alpha (National German Honorary Society) and the Baylor University Deutsch Klub, while also serving as the Modern Language Department’s German tutor.

Her Future 

After a year in Saxony with the ETA program, Olivia plans to attend Michigan State University and earn a Master’s degree in Germanic Studies and Collaborative Piano.

More from Olivia

I developed a love of German culture and language after living in Germany for several years as a child, and this love eventually pushed me to apply for a Fulbright award in order to return to the country and give back to the people who shaped my childhood and left such a lasting impact on my life. While the application process was very long (and the wait for a decision seemingly never-ending!), I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. The Office of Engaged Learning at Baylor were so supportive and helpful throughout the process, and I wouldn’t have had the motivation to keep going if it hadn’t been for their encouragement. I highly recommend applying for the award—the application process itself helped me grow as a person and as a student, and even if I hadn’t won an award, I know that I still would have benefited from the patience and tenacity it taught me to have!

I’d be open to having future applicants contact me!