Teaching, Singing, and Riding in Taiwan: Emily Yan’s Fulbright Journey

By Jerry Grillo

Emily Yan spent Christmas Eve in her dorm room in Changhua County, Taiwan, considering her next day at school, when young voices would echo through the decked halls. 

 “Christmas is big in Taiwan, but it’s still a school day,” said Yan, who is teaching English to elementary school children as part of her Fulbright scholarship experience. 

“We do arts and crafts with a holiday theme and decorations are everywhere, and every grade learns and performs a Christmas song,” said Yan, who teaches nine classes a week — the fifth graders are singing "Feliz Navidad." 

“I’ll bring my JBL speaker, and we’ll go to each classroom and sing our songs, like a flash mob," Yan said.

This isn’t exactly the role Yan expected for herself when she began pursuing her teaching dreams while an undergraduate student in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. She graduated in May 2024 and soon after received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award to serve as an English teaching assistant in Taiwan. She was one of five Georgia Tech students to earn the scholarship in 2024-25.

According to her mentor, Todd Fernandez, Yan was exactly the right choice for the rare honor.

“Emily was a model of what I think a Georgia Tech Biomedical Engineering student should be,” said Fernandez, senior lecturer and director of learning innovation in the Coulter Department. “She is fearless in the face of a challenge.”

Georgia Tech graduate Emily Yan (left) and her fellow Fulbright award winner Samantha Chon (Brown University) volunteer at a Taiwan Medical Peace Corps event.

Taking Charge in the Classroom

Yan, a member of the BME team that won the spring 2024 Capstone Expo, was a teaching assistant (TA) under Fernandez, guiding students who were barely younger than her. That proximity in age was something that drew Yan to becoming a TA in BMED 1000, the first design course that a Coulter Department undergrad takes. 

“Honestly, it was one of my favorite experiences in Coulter BME, meeting and working with the incoming class of freshmen,” said Yan, who also worked as a TA in more advanced design classes with Fernandez, BMED 2210 and BMED 2250. “I’d been in these students’ shoes not so long ago, so it was a great feeling to be able to help my peers and get some teaching experience.”

Fernandez explained that the class is split into two parts: half involves a design project in which students work in teams with a faculty member.

“The other half is comprised of discussion groups of eight first-year students led by a TA,” he said. “So, from the very start of working as a TA, Emily was responsible for building a community of learning among students that were new to Georgia Tech.”

There was no faculty in the room during this part of the class, just students teaching other students, and Yan was hooked. 

Part of her TA experience also involved taking a close look at the courses themselves, and making student-centered enhancements, such as mental health outreach to help deal with stress during exam weeks.

“She’s always been willing to take the initiative when she thinks something could be made better,” Fernandez said. “Emily works hard to make people feel welcome and valuable. Most importantly, she has an unquenchable thirst for learning that infects and motivates everyone around her.”

That motivation is like a gift that keeps on giving — Yan’s infectious nature has inspired at least one other BME undergrad, Ali Mitchell, to apply for the Fulbright award this year. Emily was Ali’s TA, and Ali became a TA for the same class.

Teaching Moments for the Teacher

Yan picked up some good pointers while working with Fernandez, who always keeps one eye on the clock when he’s lecturing. It’s because he wants to know when to stop talking so he can leave enough time during the class period to listen to his students.

“I was like, wow, that's something really insightful that I didn't think about,” said Yan. “He wants to make sure there’s time for real engagement with his students.”

That’s the kind of teacher Yan wants to be some day. But first, she’s planning on medical school. And her exposure to younger children as an English teaching assistant in Taiwan has her thinking about her future in medicine.

“I’m considering getting into pediatrics, because the bottom line is, I absolutely love kids — love working them, love their energy,” she said. 

She wants to work in a clinical setting but doesn’t imagine she’ll ever stray too far from the classroom. Yan sees herself treating younger children but teaching medical school students someday. And her Fulbright experience is helping to clarify her future options.

Emily Yan (second from left) enjoys dinner out with her host family.

Non-Verbal Communication

Yan, whose family moved to the U.S. from China, grew up in Atlanta. So, she didn’t have to travel a great distance for college. The Fulbright experience has taken her out of a comfort zone and forced her to thrive in unfamiliar surroundings — which she loves exploring on her motorbike.

“I get around pretty good on my motorcycle, slash, scooter,” she said, laughing. “Within the first month here in Taiwan, the Fulbright people helped us get our motorcycle licenses, and that was a Godsend.”

The main goal of Fulbright scholars like Yan is to enhance the English language skills of Taiwanese students, working with local teachers. The scholars also serve as cultural ambassadors, fostering mutual understanding between the U.S. and Taiwan. When she isn’t working, Yan visits the sites on her motorcycle (and hopes to take some time for a road-trip when her Fulbright term ends on June 30, perhaps doing a lap around Taiwan, not a very large nation.

She speaks Mandarin Chinese fluently at home with her family, but English is Yan’s first language. Mandarin is spoken widely in Taiwan, but she’s still 8,000 miles from home, and sometimes it can be difficult to pick up on a dialect. There can be communication gaps if you’re not paying attention.

“I’m conscious that I’m living in a country where I don’t understand everything that everyone is saying,” said Yan, who is gradually becoming more fluent in what she thinks of as a universal form of communication. 

 “It can be challenging, but I see this whole experience as a great opportunity to learn empathy,” she said. “To learn communication through facial expressions and learn how to read the emotions and body language of other people. I think all of these things translate into being a caring person and can only improve your ability as a doctor treating other people.”