The Department of Latina/Latino Studies is pleased to announce that Lydia Socorro Alvarez has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award to serve as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Spain for the 2024-2025 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Alvarez is a TA for LLS 100: Intro to Latina/Latino Studies and an LLS undergraduate alumna. She is a second-year graduate student in the College of Education.  

Alvarez will be among the more than 2,000 Fulbright U.S. students—recent college graduates, graduate students, and early career professionals from all backgrounds—who pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English in schools abroad each year. Fulbrighters form ongoing research collaborations and lay the groundwork for future partnerships between institutions. The University of Illinois was recently recognized as one of the top producers of U.S. student awards. 

“This special opportunity with Fulbright will further aid me in my goal of connecting with different communities of Spanish speaking students all over the world,” Alvarez said. While abroad, I am hopeful that I will help decolonize students’ mindsets of lack and fear and replace it with love. I am so excited to gain a new world perspective to serve university students again upon my return.”  

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which has operated in over 160 countries worldwide.