Auburn College of Education alumna's Fulbright year in Peru transforms her teaching — and her life

When Auburn College of Education alumna Hannah Tarwater boarded a plane for Peru last year as part of the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program, she knew she was stepping into an experience that would stretch her both personally and professionally. What she didn’t know was just how deeply the journey would shape her as an educator — and how quickly she would find herself planning a return trip.

Tarwater, who earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Elementary Education from Auburn’s College of Education, spent 10 months teaching English in two Peruvian cities as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. She returned to the U.S. in late December and most recently taught fifth grade at Ladonia Elementary School in Russell County, near the Phenix City, Alabama, area.

“I really, really loved it (teaching in Peru), and I felt that the students made a lot of those topics come to life by the way they participated and by the motivation that they had to learn,” Tarwater said.

A tale of two cities — and a life‑changing year

Tarwater’s Fulbright cohort began with training in Lima before splitting into pairs across the country. She spent the first half of her grant in Piura, a desert city in northern Peru, and the second half in Moyobamba, a lush, jungle region she would eventually call a “home away from home.”

She said her first weeks in Piura were a bit eye‑opening.

“We had a pretty rude awakening in some ways when we got there,” she recalled with a chuckle. “It was in the desert, so it was very, very hot, no air conditioning, and the first few weeks, our bodies were really having to adjust to living without the luxury of air conditioning in a very hot place.”

She said there were also some initial learning curves involving the region and her new job, but she said she and her teaching partner caught on quickly with the help of teachers, community members, a Fulbright Program representative whom she called their “angel,” and even the students. As it became time for her to move to her next location in Peru, she said she found it difficult to leave.

“By the time we were having to leave, it was very hard to do so, especially the students and the teachers who we'd connected so much with and spent so much time with,” she said.

Tarwater’s second placement in Moyobamba proved just as impactful.

“It was truly one of the most beautiful cities I’d ever been in,” she said. “Very green, lots of amazing wildlife… and I really loved the school that I was teaching at there.”

An inspirational experience

Teaching English to Peruvian high school students, Tarwater quickly noticed a striking difference in how her students viewed education. One moment in particular involving a holiday break from classes stayed with her — a virtual pen pal exchange between her Peruvian students and second graders from her former internship classroom in Auburn.

“The student in Moyobamba, she was saying that she was sad to leave the school and that she wished she could stay longer,” Tarwater said, noting how a second-grade student in Auburn was, on the other hand, excited to have a break from school.

Many of her Peruvian students came from rural or low‑income backgrounds and attended a competitive, government‑funded boarding school.

“They really saw the value of the opportunity they had with their education,” she said. “It was very inspiring to see the way many of the students were taking full advantage of the opportunity they were given.”

Their motivation to learn English — whether for career opportunities, university aspirations or simply to understand Taylor Swift lyrics — energized her teaching.

“The students were highly motivated to learn English,” she said. “For most of them, they’d never talked to a native English speaker.”

A strong foundation

Tarwater credits Auburn’s College of Education with preparing her to thrive in such a dynamic environment.

“I definitely think that the time that I spent at Auburn in the education program prepared me so much for the year in Peru,” she said.

She pointed to Auburn’s emphasis on discovery learning, social constructivism (students learning by interacting with others and building knowledge together), understanding students’ background knowledge, scaffolding instruction and second‑language acquisition research. She also highlighted the value of learning when — and how — to use students’ first language in the classroom.

“Sometimes it is useful to use their first language to connect to their background knowledge,” she explained. “There’s an effective way to use their first language, and it doesn’t have to be this negative thing.”

Her Auburn professors remain mentors and friends.

“The professors that I had, those are still people that I talk to,” she said. “I have a lot of respect for the professors in the College of Education and the support staff.”

Finding purpose in unexpected places

One of the most unexpected and meaningful parts of Tarwater’s Fulbright year was her volunteer work at Paz y Esperanza (Peace and Hope), a nonprofit that runs a school for deaf students in Moyobamba.

In that region, support for deaf students is lacking, so the nonprofit works to address that need. Tarwater taught science on Saturdays — drawing heavily on her Auburn science methods courses — and worked closely with the school's head teacher, who translated her lessons into Peruvian sign language.

“That work became very meaningful to me,” she said. “The students are amazing and very highly motivated. They valued a community where they can communicate and be understood.

The experience moved Tarwater so deeply that she booked a return flight before leaving Peru.

“I want to keep doing this,” she said. “I really want to continue the relationships I’ve started with these students.”

She will return to Moyobamba this June to teach English at the high school, teach science at the school for the deaf and continue learning sign language.

And even though her current fifth graders in rural Alabama don’t share the cultural or linguistic backgrounds of her Peruvian students, Tarwater sees her Fulbright experience shaping her classroom every day.

“Some of them are now very interested in learning Spanish,” she said. “I even have a call and response with my students — chicos (meaning boys and girls) — and they say sí, profe!” (meaning Yes, teacher).

Tarwater believes her global experience broadens her students’ worldviews, even from thousands of miles away.

“Because it impacts you as a person and as a teacher, I think it will, in turn, impact your students and broaden their horizons as well,” she said.

Advice for future educators

For students considering Auburn’s College of Education — or teaching abroad — Tarwater’s message is clear:

“I think it can be a life-changing experience,” she said. “You are getting to play a vital role, not just when it comes to academics, but also the impact that you can have on them in their personal life.”

For the upcoming school year, Tarwater will teach third-grade students at Ogletree Elementary in Auburn, but Peru will remain an important part of her life.

“I found some people that I really love and some work that I feel really passionate about,” she said. “I do hope to be able to return every summer to continue my relationships with the amazing people there.”