From 28 January to 2 February, the English Language Fellows, ELFs, assigned to Eastern Europe and Russia gathered in the beautiful city of Tallinn, Estonia to participate in a series of download and information sessions, cultural excursions, program anniversary activities, and mutually beneficial sharing of experiences.
My fellow Fellows spoke about the challenges and successes of their projects in their host cities and host institutions; they shared best practices in their teaching and highlighted their students’ positive responses.
Program and regional coordinators were also present to provide support and encouragement as they inquired about how we have been doing so far in our assignments. During my time in Tallinn, I was happy to share how supportive NUST MISiS has been as I carry out academic and other professional duties of my fellowship. We shared details about conferences in which we’ve presented and campus visits where we met with ACCESS students and educators from different regions of Russia. The professional development opportunities I’ve been given in this fellowship have inspired me to grow academically and personally.
Reconnecting with colleagues I met at the orientation in Washington, DC last August was especially memorable. We not only took advantage of the mid-year event to strengthen our friendships, but we also generously shared professional successes and new ideas amongst ourselves and left Tallinn reinvigorated and excited to apply new approaches and material in our primary and secondary projects. I look forward to a rewarding second half of my fellowship as I get to know students and colleagues at MISiS better and deepen my knowledge of Moscow and its surrounding region.
Leticia Medina, English Language Fellow at NUST MISiS