The month of December for ETA Avery Erickson was full of excitement and preparation for the upcoming WORDS competition at her school. Over the course of the first semester, Avery hosted several workshops with students to brainstorm ideas for their short stories related to this year’s WORDS theme, “Dreams of the Future.” The stories students have submitted range from topics of equitable solutions to climate change to defying societal expectations of women in the workplace. ETA Avery is endlessly inspired by her students’ creativity, wit, and thoughtfulness.

Avery and her fellow ETAs began planning for the national WORDS competition at the Fulbright mid-year conference in Jakarta. At the conference, she also had the opportunity to brainstorm ways to make her local WORDS competition more engaging. She was introduced to scholarship opportunities to share with her students in Surakarta.

Avery is entering the new year feeling very lucky to be working with such wonderful students alongside such dedicated and passionate ETAs.

Avery Erickson is currently teaching at SMKN 4 Surakarta, Central Java.