2023 Wright State graduate Lilith Holloway named Fulbright Scholar

2023 Wright State graduate Lilith Holloway will teach English as a second language in France this fall as a Fulbright scholar.

Wright State University alumna and Centerville native Lilith Holloway was named a Fulbright scholar for 2023.

Holloway, who graduated from Wright State with a bachelor’s degree in French and international studies in the spring of 2023, will teach English as a second language in one of France’s Zone D’éducation Prioritare in Lyon starting in September. The Zone D’éducation Prioritare is a program started by the French government in 1982 that channels additional resources to schools in disadvantaged areas and encourages the development of new teaching projects.

Holloway’s interest in French language and culture came from her family, who decided to leave Germany at the end of World War II. This decision brought her grandmother and grandmother’s sister to the United States and France, respectively.

Growing up, Holloway was exposed to the French language and culture through visits with cousins still living in France. Though she learned to communicate with her multilingual cousins in basic French, she did not begin formal French lessons until she was 15.

“I still have cousins in France and have lived with them twice. My mom and dad for some reason, spoke to them in German, but I grew up speaking to them in French,” said Holloway.

When Holloway enrolled in Wright State, she initially planned to pursue a science degree.

“I loved science in high school and was really good at it. So, I chose biochemistry as a major,” she said.

However, after earning a low GPA after her first semester, she decided it was not the right major for her. She started taking French classes and changed her major.

Holloway excelled in her new major and helped others to succeed as well, participating as a teacher’s assistant and French tutor with Wright State’s tutoring program.

With the encouragement of professors, Holloway applied for a Teaching Assistant Program in France scholarship and a Fulbright Scholarship at the beginning of her senior year.

“When I discovered they were both for the same thing, teaching English as a foreign language, I decided to apply for both,” she said. “So, I’m technically working both programs this year.”

Holloway said she is excited to take on the challenge of helping young people expand their horizons by learning a new language. She is also excited to be able to represent the United States as a cultural ambassador.

“I am really looking forward to working with middle school students,” she said. “The point of being a Fulbright scholar is to be a kind of nongovernment diplomat. And I’m thrilled to get to meet new people and build connections with people from all over the world.”

Holloway also participated for two years in Wright State’s award-winning Model United Nations program. Model United Nations is an educational simulation in which students learn about diplomacy, international relations and the United Nations.

At Model United Nations conferences, students work as the representative of a country or organization and must solve a problem with other delegates from around the world. Holloway represented France, tackling the topic of the war between Ukraine and Russia.

She also traveled with the team to the 2023 National Model United Nations Conference in New York City, where the students received a Distinguished Delegation Award. She also helped to develop a high school conference that the Wright State team hosted in the spring.