LAS Fulbright Recipients Reflect on the Journey and Discuss What’s Next

By Hailey Edmonds

The Fulbright U.S Student Program allows recipients to pursue graduate study, research, or serve as English teaching assistants abroad. Five University of Utah students received Fulbright awards for the coming academic year, including College of Liberal Arts & Sciences   Lucy Jo Leary and Tyler Beeston. Leary and Beeston shared their year-long experiences applying for the award and how they are prepping for their journeys ahead.

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Lucy Jo Leary:

Lucy Jo Leary will pursue a M.Sc. mathematics degree with a specialization in biomathematics and biostatistics at the Technical University of Munich in Germany.

Honors B.S. in Mathematics from the College of Science, Spring 2026

Hailey:

Tell me about your decision to apply for the Fulbright scholarship in the first place.

Lucy:

I originally heard about Fulbright through the Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships. I had reached out to them because one of my math advisors suggested I apply for a different scholarship. And then once I got there, they told me that the Fulbright Scholarship would probably be a good fit for me.

Hailey:

What are you most looking forward to when you start this new adventure?

Lucy: 

To be honest, at the moment, I'm mostly feeling kind of anxious and unsure about everything. But I am excited about this really beautiful garden there. And I think I'm just really excited about spending some more time outside and getting to know the culture. There are a lot of clubs at the school too.

Hailey:

What was your appeal to head abroad specifically for this program?

Lucy:

School is completely free to German citizens, and EU citizens, and so I think there's a lot more pressure in the US, because we have to buy our education. And there's some pressure to graduate students because they're paying for it, and if they bail them, then they've just wasted all that money. There's not really a reason they can't fail you, so they don't baby you. Yeah, the goal is really for you to learn as much as you can. It's kind of like a fire hose of information, is what I've heard. Yeah, it seems like they have a higher expectation for their students.

Hailey:

How is your German going?

Lucy:

I haven’t been practicing much. But I've been listening to a podcast to help. That's the extent of the German I've interacted with for the last few months. I did watch Moana in German on a recent flight.

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Tyler Beeston:

Honors B.S. in Psychology from the College of Social and Behavioral Science, Spring 2026

“I am so grateful to be selected as an ETF! Reflecting and writing about my past four years at the U while completing my application allowed me to better understand myself and how I want my future to look. I’m ecstatic for this upcoming adventure. It will enable me to continue learning Mandarin and strengthen my ability to serve children across cultural backgrounds. Both will be essential to my future career as a physician.”

 

Hailey:

Can you tell me a little bit about your Fulbright application and how you decided to apply?

Tyler:

I found out about Fulbright and all these things during my freshman year. But I was like, that's crazy. Why do I have to think about post-graduation? And then, of course, as time went on, I was like, oh, it's now getting to that point where I should be thinking about what's next.

I was able to find Fulbright, which provided me with an opportunity to go abroad and do all these things. But particularly with my program, which is English teaching. I’m not an education major, but when I looked through my experiences, and as I was writing my application, I found that everything started piecing itself together. I've actually done a lot of mentorships, and teaching before.

Hailey:

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to someone interested in applying for the Fulbright scholarship?

Tyler:

I can't tell them to start early, because I did start early, and it still felt crazy. I would say to think of the things that you are interested in and find the opportunities and programs that fit you. Don't force something.

Hailey:

What are you most excited/nervous about when it comes to this next year in Taiwan?

Tyler:

It’ll be nerve-wracking to be away from family for a year. I’ve spent months abroad, but a year is a long time. Also, just being in a country where I don’t really know the language. I’ve been learning Mandarin for the past year, but it’s very minuscule; I’m still pretty basic. I’m excited to be able to improve at it, and what’s a better way to improve than being immersed in the country?