Round Rock ATPE’s Shagufta Ellam has received the prestigious Fulbright-Hays Award not once but twice. Her first scholarship took her to Ecuador in 2010, and this summer she will travel across the globe for a six-week seminar in the Republic of Georgia.

We caught up with her to ask about the Fulbright-Hays program and what she looks forward to during the project. 

Tell us a little about your school and ATPE experience. 

I teach world history, psychology, and sociology, and I have taught Pre-AP Geography, AP World History, economics, and world culture—the whole gamut in social studies.  

For several years, I had been Round Rock ATPE’s vice president. Before that, I was a local scholarship representative. The best part of my ATPE service is being a campus representative for my campus. I hold two membership drives each year, and this year I was tied for third in line for the highest number of new members—it was nice to be recognized that way. 

I do need to give a shoutout to Yvette Milner, the regional membership specialist for Regions 13 and 20, for supporting these membership information sessions. It can be challenging for reps to have a place, or even to have permission on their home campus, to present ATPE information material. 

I feel passionate about sharing information with staff members about the importance of having ATPE's support on standby should any unfortunate situations arise. Also, I want educators to have access to great prices and legal resources* before there are any employment concerns. The best thing about being a membership rep is being on campus where I serve at the grassroots level. 

With everything that's happened in the past several years with the pandemic and learning loss, educators have more added pressure to do even more. I see a lot of people joining ATPE to have some sort of stability and accountability in the sense of what their duties are and ensuring that everybody's doing their part. I have had many people come into my classroom over the years asking how they can get in touch with ATPE. I have had emails even to the last day of school asking, “How can I join ATPE?”  

How did you learn about the Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad? 

I found it in the UT Hemisphere newsletter. They offer educational resources that we can use as a social studies teacher.   

The Fulbright-Hays is funded by congressional appropriations to the U.S. Department of Education. With a Fulbright-Hays, if you get one, that's fantastic. This is my second one, and getting this was like, “Wow!” 

My first project took me to Ecuador in 2010. Many notable heads of state or government have also gone through various Fulbrights. It is a privilege to have this opportunity to expand our awareness and gain an understanding of other cultures. 

This Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad to the Republic of Georgia is an intensive six-week immersion seminar during the summer of 2023. The education component is based at Akaki Tsereteli State University in Kutaisi, Georgia. The course "Modern Georgia: Political, Economy, Culture," will offer participants interdisciplinary learning and teaching opportunities in the Caucasus studies. 

How are you preparing for this project? 

We started preparing in February with Zoom meetings, covering Georgian language recognition, current events, and areas of study. Each participant researched a project on the topic and presented them to the group. We each had a project that could cover the scope we wanted on “Historical and Modern Georgia: Political, Economy, and Culture.” My topic presentation was “Sacred Spaces in the Republic of Georgia”. Georgia is a predominantly Christian Orthodox country, so I chose Islam and Judaism to highlight in my presentation. When I return, I hope to highlight Christianity, so I'll have a trifold of those monotheistic religions from the Georgian perspective. Georgia has a fascinating history, from becoming part of the USSR, then being an independent country. Georgians remain a unique and interesting group. 

We had about six weeks where we were learning the Georgian language and alphabet during the spring semester. Overall, it is fascinating, and hopefully, I will be speaking Georgian by the time we come back. 

What do you look forward to going into this project? 

Based on my previous experience, I look forward to all the unique perspectives from the college students, teachers, and professors who were selected for this project abroad. We will all be learning through immersion. Our diverse group will share common experiences and bounce ideas off of each other for integrating international studies into our academic curriculums. 

We are each going to have a host family, and we will be going on local excursions in the area during the week and extended excursions during the weekend. I plan to take pictures and write about my experience and points of view in a daily blog. 

Congratulations, Shagufta—we look forward to learning about your experience!

*Eligibility, terms, conditions, and limitations apply. Visit atpe.org/protection to view important disclosures and current details of the insurance policy. Staff attorney services are provided separate from the Educators Professional Liability Insurance Program.