Liberty professor earns Fulbright grant to train teachers in Indonesia

Liberty University Professor of Modern Languages Dr. Jaeshil Kim has become a finalist for the Fulbright Scholar grant, allowing her to teach in Indonesia from January to June 2024. This comes after two consecutive years of being a semifinalist.

“When I heard that I became a finalist, the first feeling was gratefulness to the Lord, but I also felt a sense of relief and redemption,” Kim said.

While working at Liberty, Kim has partnered with Bridge Builders Global (BBG), a nonprofit mission organization stationed in Vietnam that focuses on education development in Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Indonesia. As a senior consultant for BBG since 2010, Kim has assessed the needs of teachers, principals, and other school administrators, particularly in underprivileged areas, and funneled valuable resources from the U.S. to these locations.

Kim’s primary objectives on her Fulbright grant proposal involved two main components: teaching undergraduate and graduate students at a university and giving in-person and hybrid learning environment workshops to university personnel.

“Here in the States, especially at Liberty, we have spent a lot of time, effort, and resources for creating a good online teaching environment for our students, and I want to share these resources with the university professors in Indonesia,” she said. “(In the U.S.) we are sharing a lot of top-notch teaching strategies and technologies, but when you get to those remote areas in these countries, you realize that these snazzy resources cannot be applied to these people. So, I realized that empowering the current local teachers is the best way to serve their students.”

Kim’s first experience with Fulbright occurred when she was a university student in South Korea in 1992, long before she became an American citizen. While a student, Kim enrolled in an English Conversation course, where her teacher was a Fulbright finalist.

“I learned English from this Fulbright scholar, and his teaching was just so good and excellent. I realized this was something I really wanted to do,” Kim said.

Kim said that she hopes to inspire a young educator during her stay in Indonesia.

“I’m praying that it’s going to happen. You never know how you might touch other people’s lives,” she said. “I think Fulbright is a wonderful opportunity to share what we have with the world, especially the ones who need our help in many different ways. I’m very excited about this opportunity to work with my Indonesian students and colleagues, sharing my life, and by doing this, I think I will be able to share the Great Truth.”

Kim expressed gratitude for Dr. Edna Udobong, Liberty’s Fulbright liaison, for encouraging her to apply for a third time and for her continuous support of Liberty’s students and faculty during the application process. Kim also encourages her students and colleagues to consider a Fulbright journey.

“Liberty is very supportive of its Fulbright applicants, and we do have a lot of good resources for helping people if they’re willing to apply for the scholarships,” she said. “There are many different ways to serve communities of their interests.”

“Dr. Kim’s patience and perseverance in applying for a Fulbright grant shows her perfect understanding of how the prestigious scholarship competition actually works,” Udobong said. “Dr. Kim has demonstrated that to reach a goal, one has to be patient and be determined.  Dr. Kim has a heart for Christ-like service and as a colleague and a friend, I am happy that she has accomplished her goal to serve the people of Indonesia through the Fulbright grant.”

Kim’s grant is the second Fulbright recognition for Liberty this year. Recent history graduate Aleah Schrock received a Fulbright grant from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program to teach English in Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean.

Fulbright serves over 135 countries. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program scholarship application is now open. To learn more about the scholarship and how to apply, contact Professor Edna Udobong, Liberty University’s Fulbright Program Advisor, at eudobong3@liberty.edu.