Lifelong Anacortes resident Abby Schnabel and John Simpson, who recently moved his family here, have won Fulbright Scholarships with upcoming overseas teaching positions.
Schnabel, 22, will go to Bulgaria and Simpson, 40, will go Turkmenistan in the Fall, both to teach.
John Simpson sent me his Fulbright notification last month and I wanted to know, considering how rare Fulbrights are, whether I could find another current Fulbright scholar. I put out a couple of feelers and found Abby Schnabel.
I talked with both. Their stories are quite different. But, in some sense, not that far apart.
Fulbright Scholarships come in a few varieties. Their Awards can be for study and research, for English language teaching assistant positions and, in special cases, for fellowships in public health or more in-depth study of globally relevant issues in the case of National Geographic Awards. The Fulbright Program awards more than 400 scholarships annually in over 135 countries to teach, conduct research, and carry out professional projects
Fulbright Scholarships are awarded through the U.S. State Department, which is currently undergoing severe funding cuts, including staff reductions, but funding appears to be solid for both Abby and John, perhaps because the funds come from the countries where they will work.
Abby Schnabel recently graduated from Yale University with a double major in Global Affairs and Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies with an Education Studies Certificate. While at Yale, she also learned Russian language.
She’s back in town now. She told me she’s “super excited” about going to Bulgaria. She said the people there are warm and welcoming. Yes, she’s been there already with her mother, Amy. Abby will be a teaching assistant. Bulgaria is a cultural melting pot with Greek, Slavic, Ottoman, and Persian influences.
Amy said she’ll be an English Teaching Assistant at St. Constantine Cyril the Philosopher Secondary School in Ruse, Bulgaria and intends to be a cultural ambassador exposing students to the history and culture of America. The school is one of the largest in the region and has a focus on intensive foreign language learning. Abby said she will also be coaching the school’s Bulgarian English Speech Tournament speech and debate team.
For a new Yale graduate, her background is impressive. She has international experience as a Policy and Legal Trainee at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium and as a Summer Intern at the U.S. State Department. Abby was raised in a Navy family, moving many times, and has grown up all around the world. She graduated from Anacortes High School in 2021.
Her longer term goal is to get a position at the State Department where she can have some influence in international affairs.
John Simpson has an extensive background in international affairs. He earned a Master of Arts in International Studies at University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies in 2017. He also holds a Master of Education degree from Seattle University, Loyola College of Education.
While he didn’t grow up here, he said his family recently moved here. His eleven-year-old son will be in school here in the Fall as John starts his new Fulbright Scholarship teaching international relations at the Institute of International Relations (IIR) in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Fulbright says the IIR is the country’s premier institution responsible for education and research in the field and that the IIR plays a crucial role in Turkmenistan's foreign policy and diplomatic efforts.
This is not John’s first touch with that country. He was a Fulbright Turkmenistan Specialist at World Learning, a nonprofit that focuses in international development, education and exchange programs. He speaks Spanish and Russian.
I managed a phone interview while John was busy at his current job in Washington, DC, as an English Instructor at the International Center for Language Studies. He said Turkmenistan is a fascinating country with regional importance which is attempting to navigate geo-political interests in bordering countries. It borders Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan and the Caspian Sea.
John said the country’s natural gas reserves play an important role in the region.
I might add that natural gas has fed what’s been termed the enormous “Gateway to Hell” fire which ignited in 1917 when Soviet scientists tried to experiment with it.\
John’s background includes work as a Fellow at the World Affairs Council of Seattle, and he has been Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Business at Coventry University in England.
The Fulbright Scholar Program for academics and professionals awards more than 1,700 fellowships each year, enabling 800 U.S. Scholars to go abroad and 900 Visiting Scholars to come to the United States.