Alexandra Berardelli recently graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a B.A. in Classics. She has dedicated herself to studying ancient languages and Mediterranean culture, with a primary goal of drawing meaningful connections between antiquity and modernity. During her undergraduate career, Alexandra engaged in interdisciplinary coursework and research, exploring Stoic philosophy in nature, ancient Roman rhetoric, classical reception, as well as modern politics, media, and public policy. She wrote a research thesis on the power of persuasion through gendered rhetoric, titled “Pathos and Power: Gendered Rhetoric in Ciceronian Rome and the 21st-Century U.S.”. At the same time, she served as Chief Opinions Editor of Holy Cross’ student newspaper, The Spire, fostering dialogue on diverse issues and providing a platform for thought-provoking opinions while sharing her own insights with the college community. Alexandra has also shared her passion for learning by working as a teaching assistant and peer tutor for Latin and ancient Greek. Additionally, she served as a peer mentor for Dream College Academy, an organization that guides students through the college application process. During her semester abroad in Athens, she volunteered at the Polyglosso Language Centre in Neos Kosmos as an English examiner for all language levels. As a lifelong learner, Alexandra is committed to inspiring students to pursue a life of inquiry and learning. She found joy in teaching and working with students abroad and is especially grateful to return to Greece as a Fulbright fellow. Passionate about education and policy, she aims to ensure education for all and looks forward to growing as a leader and international mentor during her year at Athens College. In her free time, she enjoys photography, musicals, movie soundtracks, and writing.

Chloe graduated from Brown University in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science. At Brown, Chloe also immersed herself in Modern Greek studies, taking four years of classes in language and translation and studying abroad in Thessaloniki during the spring semester of her junior year. In Thessaloniki, Chloe volunteered as an English tutor for Greek students with learning difficulties. In the summer of 2023, Chloe worked at Outer Coast, a small postsecondary institution in Sitka, Alaska, where she had previously studied, helping run a seminar program to bring college-level academics to a diverse group of high-school students. She will return to Outer Coast in the summer before starting at Athens College to run the program's community service component. Chloe's experiences in educational environments inspired her to pursue the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship at Athens College, which combines her love for Greece with her educational career aspirations. Chloe is an expert-level competitive Scrabble player who is currently ranked in the top 20 in North America, a skill she is excited to share with students at Athens College. She loves crossword puzzles, hiking, and reading, and could not be more excited to spend this next year in Athens.

In 2024, Eliza graduated from Dartmouth College with high honors in English and minors in Social Inequalities and Environmental Studies. During her time at Dartmouth, she worked in the undergraduate admissions office as a tour guide and senior fellow. Eliza worked closely with prospective students and families to make the college application process transparent and accessible to all. The highlight of her admissions work was reading applications and learning about people’s unique and compelling stories. Eliza was also involved in a first-year mentorship program, Dartmouth Leadership, Attitudes, and Behaviors. As a student facilitator, Eliza helped guide first-year students in discussions focused on how to enact their values at Dartmouth and beyond. She also took on leadership positions in many campus organizations, such as the communications director of Sheba Dance Troupe, a hip-hop dance group, and a trip leader for the Viva Hardigg Outdoors Club, an outdoors club for marginalized gender identities. This past year, Eliza attended the Harvard Graduate School of Education and received her Master’s in Education. As part of the Teaching and Teacher Leadership Program, she taught tenth-grade English at Somerville High School and further solidified her passion for education. During her time at Somerville, she learned to create culturally relevant and engaging lessons for her diverse group of students. Eliza strongly believes that diverse stories are critical in English classrooms, and she emphasizes the need to include texts that reflect students’ identities and illuminate marginalized experiences. Eliza also maintains that all of her students are capable of producing high quality and thoughtful work. By supporting and uplifting her students, she saw tremendous growth, both academically and emotionally, from many of her students over the course of her year-long program. As a passionate, committed, and reflective educator, Eliza is excited to make an impact in the classroom at Athens College.

Elizabeth recently graduated from Columbia University with a BA in English and a Concentration in Psychology. During her time at Columbia, Elizabeth was a teaching assistant in the Department of Psychology, an orientation leader for new students, a volunteer literacy tutor with Reading Partners for first-grade students, and an editor in the Print Division of the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review. Prior to college, Elizabeth spent a decade training pre-professionally at the School of American Ballet (SAB), where after appearing in numerous performances in children’s roles with the New York City Ballet, she went on to be a teaching assistant for the SAB Children’s Division while completing her advanced dance training. She then continued to dance throughout college and served as Director of Columbia Repertory Ballet (CRB), allowing her to explore the more administrative and artistic planning sides of the performing arts. Elizabeth’s involvement with CRB also included being a répétiteur, where she re-staged and taught works by professional choreographers for the dance company’s semesterly performances. Elizabeth is both honored and excited for the opportunity to further her teaching skills in a cross-cultural context this year as a Fulbright Fellow at Athens College-HAEF.

Emma Ryan graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in December 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics. Emma’s passion for education began in high school, when she worked as a summer camp and after-school counselor, and volunteered as a teaching intern for Breakthrough Manchester, an academic enrichment program for students from traditionally underserved communities. In college, she joined the Prison Education Project’s research team, where she sourced educational materials for incarcerated students. She also served as the president of the WashU Chapter of UNICEF, coordinating volunteer and fundraising efforts for children in the St. Louis area. As a Senior Consultant with Bear Studios, a student-run consulting firm, Emma worked on a variety of projects, including overseeing the development of a website for a public school district. She was active on campus as a committee chair and director for WashU’s annual Model UN conference for high schoolers, and as a peer advisor at WashU’s Career Center, supporting fellow students in their professional journeys. Emma also has a deep love for the performing arts, and trained and competed nationally in ballet, contemporary, and Irish dance. In her junior year, Emma had the opportunity to study abroad at Trinity College Dublin and spent three subsequent weeks traveling throughout Greece. She is very excited to return as a Fulbright Fellow and looks forward to continuing to explore her passion for education.

Gowri graduated with honors from the University of Chicago in June 2022 with a B.A. in Linguistics and a Minor in History. Her B.A. thesis interrogated the linguistic concept of diglossia through examining Modern Greek diglossia and the historical context in which it arose. During her time in college, she was active in her dorms House Council, acted in numerous theatrical productions through her university's theater club, and worked as a linguistics research assistant. She has a lot of experience teaching and tutoring, having worked as a volunteer English teacher with students in India throughout high school and a virtual English and math tutor for students in K-12 across the US. Since graduating, Gowri has spent the last three years as the Communications Director at a refugee education. She loves working with children of all ages and watching them learn and grow and is passionate about expanding access to education. Gowri has loved Greece since she studied abroad there during her sophomore year of college, and is excited to return to there and deepen her understanding of Greek language and culture while honing her skills as an educator. She is honored to be teaching at Athens College.

Hannah graduated from Ball State University in 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with a concentration in Language Arts. While at Ball State University, Hannah worked with students in kindergarten, second grade, fourth grade, and sixth grade. During her senior year, she participated in a teacher residency program, in which she worked with students in a classroom throughout the year, including her student teaching. From these experiences and more, Hannah developed a love for teaching and is continuously growing in her personal love for learning. She is passionate about teaching and works to create a positive classroom environment by providing an effective education and by fostering connections with students. Outside of teaching, Hannah participated in the Ball State Pride of Mid-America Marching Band for four years. She is excited to immerse herself in Greek culture, especially in schools, and looks forward to applying her experiences in Greece to her future profession as an elementary teacher.

Jacqueline Kelley graduated in 2025 with a M.Ed. in Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship with a concentration in Literacy and Languages from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. During her time at Harvard, she was a lab assistant at the Jeanne Chall Reading Lab and was on the Student Advisory Board for the literacy and languages concentration where she was able to dive deeper into the processes of learning how to teach students the critical skill of reading. Her work built on her undergraduate studies at the University of Florida where she graduated in 2024 with a BAE in Elementary Education. During her time in Florida, Jacqueline had multiple field placements at local elementary schools that solidified her love for teaching reading to students in the early elementary levels. She believes reading is a right for all students and is passionate about passing a love of reading onto every student that steps inside her classroom. Jacqueline is thrilled at the opportunity to head to Greece and see the teaching practices that lead to Greece having one of the highest literacy rates globally as well as immerse herself in all the country has to offer. In her free time, she enjoys reading, being by the ocean, and spending time with her loved ones.

Lucy has recently graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a B.A. in Classics and English. In her senior year, she completed an undergraduate honors thesis exploring the influence of Classical Tradition on Medieval English literature in respect to the relationship between poetry and philosophy. She has a love for studying the tricks and charms of modern and ancient languages, which she fostered as an undergraduate by tutoring fellow Latin students and serving as the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Criterion, a journal for the college’s top literary criticism. Lucy also values cultural exchange, and has studied abroad in Rome for a summer semester, and in Oxford for an academic year. She cherished her time learning in new ways and living in new cultures. She is fascinated by the antiquity of Athens, and looks forward to understanding the lasting presence of the past in the modern city. Lucy is also a rower, and enjoys Lake Quinsigamond as much as the Thames River, having spent time competing on the Holy Cross and Mansfield College rowing teams. In her free time, Lucy loves live music and spending time with her younger cousins at the lake.

Malva recently graduated from Amherst College with a degree in Environmental Studies. During her undergraduate career, she served as the Communications Intern for both the college’s Office of Sustainability and Office of Global Education. She founded the Sustainable Solutions Lab, a student club focused on collaborative ideation around sustainability issues impacting campus. Malva also worked as a Tour Guide for the Office of Admissions, where she discovered her passion for increasing accessibility within higher education. In addition, her role as a Teaching Assistant in the Geology and Statistics departments helped her cultivate a dynamic and supportive teaching style—experience she is eager to bring to the students of Athens College. Her passion for travel and cultural exchange led her to spend her entire Junior year abroad, living in Zanzibar, Morocco, Nepal, Ecuador, and Japan. Malva is the recipient of several fellowships supporting travel and educational development, including the Nagle Fellowship in Asian Arts, the National Science Foundation STEMSEAS Research Fellowship, and the Folger Shakespeare Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Never one to shy away from lively debate, Malva also participated in Amherst College’s Speaking Competition, where she honed her public speaking skills and developed a strong stage presence. She is excited to engage with the staff and students alike of Athens College, and is thankful to both Fulbright and Athens College-HAEF for this unique opportunity.

Merlin D'souza recently graduated from Harvard University with an honors degree in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology and a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. Throughout her undergraduate years, she conducted research on seasonal biology and worked as a course assistant for college-level courses. She was an Eagle Peer Advising Fellow, helping first-year students navigate academic and personal decisions, and supporting her fellow Peer Advising Fellows in their role. After conducting research in India about a mental wellbeing program's impact in school settings for adolescents, she was drawn to the impact that teaching can have. This experience deepened her interest in cross-cultural education while teaching ages 14-17 in Taiwan and India, where she emphasized student-led learning and communication. In college, she worked for the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative answering questions from prospective students about financial aid and the application process and supporting current low-income students. She loves getting involved in her community and in college enjoyed volunteering at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter and Boston Children's Hospital. Drawn to the value Greece places on hospitality and education, she looks forward to contributing and getting involved in her school community and learning from her students.

Michael graduated from Emory University in the spring of 2023. He majored in English and Creative Writing with a minor in Religion. While at Emory, Michael was a captain of the varsity Track and Field team and received all-region Honors in the hammer throw. After graduation, Michael served as a Teach for America Corpsmember in D.C. He taught sixth-grade English. He gained extensive experience teaching English Language Learners, as many of his students were from El Salvador or Honduras. While teaching in DC, Michael has been continuously working on his own literary projects, which include a novel set in Greece. Beyond connecting with his Greek heritage, Michael is excited to gain experiences to use in his writing and finally put his Greek practice to good use!

Siena Swift was born and raised in Kailua, Hawai‘i and graduated from Pomona College in 2023 with a degree in Politics. For the past two years, she has taught English at a primary school in Valencia, Spain through the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program (NALCAP). At Pomona, Siena worked as a news writer and editor for The Student Life, earning multiple awards for her journalism. She also spearheaded campus sustainability initiatives as an EcoRep and perfected the art of walking backwards as a campus tour guide. Her interest in Greece predates her summer study abroad experience with College Year in Athens in 2022, but that program solidified her desire to live abroad after graduation. Siena is passionate about mentorship and is excited to guide students at Athens College through the university application process as part of the University Applications Counseling Office. This role builds on her experience as an admissions fellow at Pomona and as Creative Content Coordinator for Top Tier Admissions, a leading U.S. college counseling firm. As a Fulbright grantee, Siena looks forward to building supportive relationships with students, immersing herself in Greek culture, and fostering a welcoming learning environment. Long-term, she hopes to continue working in international education and college advising. Outside the office, Siena enjoys traveling (25 countries and counting), reading, and arts & crafts.

Jehan received a B.A. from Tufts University in International Relations, with a concentration in Europe and the Former Soviet Union. During his undergraduate career, he developed a passion for teaching and research alike. His pedagogical experience traverses a broad range of topics and ages. His presidency of Tufts Debate Society tasked him with developing drills, planning and running practices, and broadly ensuring the club's collective enjoyment and development. As a teaching assistant in political philosophy, Jehan was aided by his research experience. He pursued independent study with Tufts Political Science Faculty on Plutarch's treatment of Platonic virtue in his biographies and received two research fellowships concentrated on Machiavelli's evaluation of the Ancient World and its Renaissance imitators. Jehan's experience teaching mature topics to older demographics is supplemented and enhanced by the four years he spent as a literacy tutor for Tufts Literacy Corps, an organization dedicated to increasing local literacy rates among elementary and middle school students. As a political theorist and prospective academic, he is thrilled to explore Greek culture and develop as an educator by learning from his peers and the senior instructors at the HAEF. Outside of the classroom, he enjoys playing music, reading, and playing basketball.