May 2002 UTC graduate Oleander Reagan-Artemis has won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to Romania
Oleander Reagan-Artemis can count on two hands the number of times traveled outside of the state of Tennessee—and has never been out of the country.
It’s time to get a passport.
Ms. Reagan-Artemis, a May 2022 graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to Romania. Participants in the ETA program help teach English while representing the U.S. as cultural ambassadors.
Ms. Reagan-Artemis is the third UTC student in recent years selected for the prestigious Fulbright award.
In spring 2019, political science major Simone Edwards became the University’s first Fulbright recipient since 1965, traveling to Guatemala for her study abroad experience. The following year, political science major Hannah Horton was selected as a Fulbright Scholar to South Korea.
“I like to share I’m a first-generation college student, so this is the biggest of deals to me,” said Ms. Reagan-Artemis, who majored in modern and classical languages and literatures: Latin, and was a UTC Brock Scholar, graduating summa cum laude. “Going to college at all was a big deal, but now I’m going to go teach at a university in a whole other country. That’s pretty cool.”
Ms. Reagan-Artemis, a 2018 graduate of Sevier County High School in Sevierville, is one of seven UTC students or recent graduates who advanced to the semifinal level during the current Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award cycle—the highest total in the University’s history. None of the others has learned their fate, with decisions historically announced in April.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, providing awards to approximately 8,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals each year. Founded in 1946, the prestigious program has partnerships with more than 140 countries worldwide.
As an English teaching assistant, Ms. Reagan-Artemis will partner with a local English language teacher at a Romanian university. It begs the question: Why Romania?
“My first response is actually, ‘Of course, Romania,’ but I understand that it can seem a little unconventional for a Latin teacher to say, ‘Of course, Romania,’” Ms. Reagan-Artemis said with a laugh. “For me, it makes complete sense.
“Romania has me hooked from history. The great Roman poet, Ovid, was exiled there in 8 AD or so. The educational reforms from the revolution in 1989 to the current work being done to preserve Roman ruins in Romania piques my interest.”