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Caroline Mierzwa ‘23, 24G says getting flour thrown at her has been a particularly remarkable moment in her Fulbright experience so far. 

Mierzwa, who completed her M.Ed. in Secondary Education at Lehigh University in 2024, is currently stationed in Ourense, Spain as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) as part of a 9-month assignment funded by the U.S. Fulbright Program. She earned a BA in English with minors in History and Global Citizenship in 2023. 

"One of the most memorable parts of my experience recently occurred during Carnival," Mierzwa said. "Here in Galicia, Carnival is called Entroido in the Galician language, or Gallego. Ourense is actually known for having one of the most famous Entroido celebrations in all of Spain, as the villages continue with old traditions, such as the fariña, where people throw flour at each other."

Mierzwa teaches in un instituto (or high school) floating between classes ranging from seventh grade all the way to segundo bachillerato, or the U.S. equivalent of 12th grade. For Carnival, the school had an Entroido competition where the classes competed against each other in the elaborateness of their costumes and performances. 

Since the theme was movies, her class voted on Barbie.

“Yes, I did dress as Barbie from the 2023 blockbuster hit,” Mierzwa said. “I worked with my students to choreograph a fun dance number that incorporated them holding signs with feminist sayings in their native language. It was unique to incorporate my background as a dancer into this school event and I was beyond impressed to see the strong community within my school and the Galicia pride in my students. 

“It is moments like that remind me why I went into teaching, as it was true teamwork and coordination at its core," said Mierzwa, who was co-captain of the Lehigh Dance Team. "We got third place, so you can say I was pretty proud."

As a Lehigh undergraduate, Mierzwa was also an Eckhardt Scholar, served as a virtual education intern for Gymboree Play and Music in Dublin, Ireland through the Iacocca International Internship Program, as well as a Youth Representative at the United Nations through the Lehigh University U.N. (LU/UN) Partnership. 

As an LU/UN Youth Representative, Mierzwa was only one of two students in the world to serve as a voice for Nor Luyce, an Armenian-based NGO, advocating for access to quality education for the most vulnerable Armenian girls at the UN. Her work with Nor Luyce earned her a nomination as an intern for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science Conference at the U.N. Headquarters where she worked closely with the founder of the day, Her Royal Highness of Iraq, Dr. Nisreen El-Hashemite. 

“After holding positions of such high regard, Caroline remains humble and easily approachable," said Elena Reiss, Assistant Director of Fellowship Advising and UN Partnerships. "She embodies a spirit of collaborative discourse, mutual respect, and intercultural humility – essential qualities for a successful Fulbright experience."

At the conclusion of her Fulbright, Mierzwa said she will likely continue teaching in a public school classroom, but her long-term aspiration is to become an education policy maker or someone who helps design curriculum. 

Describing the Fulbright ETA as “the perfect nexus between (her) passions of education and international affairs,” Mierzwa sees first-hand classroom teaching experience as a crucial step toward achieving her goal. “Teaching in Spain was even more ideal, as it allowed me to witness different approaches to classroom management and language teaching.

“As our world becomes more chaotic and different migration patterns take hold due to sociopolitical or environmental reasons, schools are bearing witness to a lot of different languages being spoken in classrooms,” she said. “Packaged curriculum can and should do a better job of incorporating and accommodating students' different languages into the classroom and I would like to be at the forefront of that movement.” 

Editor’s Note: The Fulbright application for the 2026-2027 application cycle is currently open. The application deadline is October 7, 2025 at 5 pm EST.