Paving the Way for Indigenous International Exchange with Kimberly Fuqua

Happy Native American History Month from the Gilman Scholarship Program! For our first episode honoring our Tribal Gilman Scholars, Kimberly Fuqua (England, 2018) joins the podcast to discuss how her Indigenous heritage impacted her exchange experience. Kimberly reflects on her experience growing up as a Native American and how she was able to create and find a new community while on exchange in Europe. Kimberly concludes with offering some valuable advice for exchange students across all walks of life on how to balance exploration and studies while also traveling on a budget.  

A proud member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Kimberly Fuqua is a former special education teacher, devoting 10 years of her life serving students with learning disabilities within and around her hometown of Pembroke, North Carolina. She is the mother of two boys and enjoys spending time with her best friend, her mother. She recently graduated with her master’s from Cornell University where she majored in Public Administration with a concentration in social educational policy and served as a diversity and inclusion fellow. Kimberly currently resides in Schenectady, New York working for the New York State Department of Transportation and is actively involved in her Indigenous identity and served as the co-president of the Indigenous Graduate Student Association.

Connect with Kimberly on LinkedIn.