English major Kate Blackwell ’26 awarded Fulbright to teach in Taiwan
English major Kate Blackwell ’26 awarded Fulbright to teach in Taiwan
By Vicki-Ann Downing ’21G
Before Kate Blackwell ’26 decided to study English at Providence College, she wondered about her future. Would she find a job? Would the choice limit her career opportunities?
“I was worried for a long time. Should I major in finance?” Blackwell said. “But English is what makes me love life. There is a narrative. From the beginning, people wrote stories. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be a good person? You can read horror stories or beautiful Bible prayers, and it speaks to something in you. If you work hard, you can do whatever you want with it, because it gives you what you need to live.”
To emphasize her point, Blackwell will leave in August 2026 for Taiwan, where she will spend 11 months teaching English through the Fulbright Program, the flagship international exchange program of the U.S. government. She will live in an apartment with other Fulbright scholars but also will have a host family to connect her to the community.
In addition to being selected for the prestigious Fulbright, Blackwell was awarded a position with Teach for America. When she returns to the United States, she will teach English to high school students in greater Providence for the 2027-2028 academic year.
“I feel so lucky to have gotten both of them and to be able to do both of them,” Blackwell said. “I really believe in the mission of both.”
Blackwell chose to study English on the creative writing track. She learned how to write prose poetry from author and poet Chun Ye, Ph.D., associate professor of English. She found her niche working on the editorial staff of The Alembic, the college’s literary journal. The college’s oldest publication, founded in 1920, it publishes poetry, fiction, and photography submitted for consideration by contributors on campus and around the world.
Blackwell discovered an affinity for editing and publishing through her work on The Alembic and in an Editing and Publishing course with Emily Pittinos, MFA, assistant professor of English and advisor for The Alembic. Pittinos wrote a letter recommending Blackwell for the Fulbright.
“I have witnessed Kate rise to, and ultimately exceed, every challenge I’ve offered her, both in the classroom and as an editor,” Pittinos wrote. “She is level-headed, kind, open, curious, whip-smart, joyful. She is an excellent student who is always prepared and willing to take on responsibility. Kate is the student you turn to during discussion when you need to guarantee a thoughtful insight or shatter a tense silence. She is able to rise to challenges, build meaningful relationships, and adapt to changes big and small.”
Adapting to change was a challenge that Blackwell mastered while a student at Milford High School in Massachusetts. The summer after her sophomore year, the school offered students the opportunity to spend a month in China. In addition to touring, they would prepare lessons and teach children at a primary school in Weihai and at a middle school in Qingdao. The trip ended with sightseeing in Beijing.
“I am such a homebody and so close to my family that looking back, I can’t believe I went,” Blackwell said. “It was my first time on a plane and that’s a 20-hour plane ride.”
Blackwell traveled at PC, too. She spent the spring semester of her junior year in Bath, England, through the Advanced Studies in English program. For a “literature nerd,” it was thrilling to read Jane Austen in the region where Austen wrote and visit Oxford where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis walked and talked together. In a bit of foreshadowing, her roommate in the program was from Taiwan.
When she returned from England, Blackwell received an email about the Fulbright Program from Darra Mulderry, Ph.D., director of national and international fellowships and associate director in PC’s Center for Engaged Learning. Through Mulderry’s work teaching history in the college’s signature Development of Western Civilization Program, she is able to identify students who would qualify for Fulbright consideration. Blackwell was interested, and after researching options, decided to try for a placement in Taiwan.
Her experiences touring in China and learning about Taiwan from her roommate factored in the choice — “It all seemed to fall into place. It all seemed written in the stars,” she said.
She plans to study Mandarin during the summer to help her converse with her host family and others in the community. Fulbright teaching assistants are encouraged to undertake a service project, so Blackwell will teach about myths and folklore during story time at the local library.
“It’s a way to connect with people in a smaller way,” Blackwell said. “I would compare and contrast myths and folklore — The Tigress Witch with Johnny Appleseed, for example.”
Blackwell decided to attend PC after touring liberal arts colleges in New England. It was her top choice, but she worried about whether she could afford it.
“I put a mantle to God,” Blackwell said. “‘I need this number to make it work,’ and my scholarship was exactly that number.”
Among many PC experiences, Blackwell enjoyed participating in the Art Club, helping her friend, Francesca Bambara ’26, with a food recycling program through ECOPC, and joining a retreat on Enders Island in Connecticut with Rev. Gregory Santy, O.P., associate college chaplain. She was a member of the Honors Program and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious liberal arts honor society, and Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society.
The knowledge she acquired through the Development of Western Civilization Program gave Blackwell an advantage during pub trivia games in England.
“I felt so smart,” Blackwell said. “Providence set me up for success in every aspect of life.”
In the future, “my dream of dreams, after the Fulbright and Teach For America, would be to work in a publishing house and get a Ph.D.,” Blackwell said. “I am not sure of the timeline. If I love the classroom, maybe I’ll stay.”
“English is so broad,” Blackwell said. “There are so many opportunities to explore so many things. I am grateful for everything Providence has set me up for.”
