Zoe Williamson ’26 has won a 2026 Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award to Botswana, where she will spend nine months teaching secondary school students.
“I am thrilled to be able to grow as an educator in Botswana,” Williamson says. “I am also really excited to build a community there.”
Williamson also won a position as an Assistant Language Teacher with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, but the programs overlapped, and, after much deliberation, she chose the Fulbright.
Williamson’s appreciation for cultural connection began when she spent the fall semester of her junior year studying abroad in Tunis, Tunisia. A History-Political Science major with a focus on American social movements, she designed and completed an independent research project on youth voting patterns in the 2024 Tunisian Presidential Election. She also spent three weeks working in Italy with NGOs supporting migrants.
“Zoe is the quintessential Colorado College student—deeply devoted to her academic endeavors and avidly involved in the life of the College outside of the classroom,” says her advisor, Associate Professor of Political Science Elizabeth Coggins. “Zoe was a master at connecting ideas across readings and concepts and days of the block, providing an illuminating perspective from which everyone benefited.”
Williamson has always been passionate about working with young people and focuses on combining academic work with community-based justice efforts. She worked as an AmeriCorps Teaching Fellow last summer, learning from professional teachers and teaching law and fitness to middle school students.
Williamson also worked at CC’s Cheryl Schlessman Bennett Children’s Center from sophomore through senior year—another experience she will draw upon in Botswana.
Williamson is “a natural with children, and a steady presence in the classroom,” says Kim Foster, Children’s Center Director. “She has big things ahead of her and will definitely make a difference in the lives of children who will benefit from her influence.”
Williamson says she is grateful for the support of her mentors at the Children’s Center and AmeriCorps Generation Teach, her Political Science and History professors, and Fulbright Advisor Roy Jo Sartin.
“Zoe will make a terrific ETA and cultural ambassador to Botswana,” Sartin says. “She has experience working with and teaching students of all ages, but more importantly she is personable, enthusiastic, and genuinely excited to learn more about the people and culture of Botswana.”
