Mercer Times

Natasha Agrawal, a graduate of the College of New Jersey (TCNJ) with a Master of Education degree in 2010, has been selected for the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Short Term Program. This summer, she will travel to Dhangadhi, Nepal, where she will spend six weeks training teachers.

Agrawal is an English as a Second Language teacher at Robbins Elementary School in Trenton and also serves as an instructor in TCNJ’s Department of Special Education, Language, and Literacy. She teaches courses on curriculum development, methods and assessments for ESL/bilingual education, and the theory and practice of teaching ESL.

In Dhangadhi, located in southwest Nepal near the Indian border, Agrawal will conduct lessons for elementary school faculty. "It’s everything from classroom management to social-emotional learning to teaching phonics, reading, and writing," Agrawal explained.

She is among 20 U.S. citizens who will participate in this program in 2024. The initiative sends expert K–12 educators to various countries to support educational projects. As part of her role as a Fulbrighter, Agrawal aims to share knowledge and build connections between communities in the United States and Nepal.

Agrawal previously engaged with Fulbright’s Teachers for Global Classrooms program by participating in training sessions with educators in Morocco. She also traveled to Egypt through the State Department’s English Language Fellow Program.

Expressing gratitude towards TCNJ for her educational foundation and career support, Agrawal stated: "I want to say ‘thank you’ to TCNJ for giving me such a solid foundation in understanding education, and to the faculty who supported me in my career." She acknowledged Jean Wong, associate professor emerita at TCNJ, for her guidance.

The Fulbright Program is recognized as the U.S. government’s leading international educational exchange initiative. Since its inception in 1946, it has facilitated over 400,000 participants from more than 160 countries to engage in study programs aimed at fostering international collaboration on shared concerns.