Kristal Angeles, a Northern Illinois University alumna, has been chosen as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Luxembourg. In a separate initiative, Dr. Anthony Choi from Mercer University is developing an AI curriculum for middle and high school students supported by a $1 million grant from NASA.
Kristal Angeles, an alumna of Northern Illinois University (NIU) who graduated in May 2022 with a B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education and an ESL endorsement, has been selected as a Fulbright Luxembourg English Teaching Assistant for the 2024-2025 school year. Angeles is currently a fifth-grade ESL teacher at WJ Murphy Elementary School in Round Lake, her hometown. She credits her interest in international education to her experiences with the NIU College of Education’s Educate Global program in Indonesia.
The Fulbright Program, established in 1946, offers opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to study, teach, and conduct research worldwide. Angeles chose Luxembourg for its multilingual education system and plans to enhance her French language skills and bring back international teaching insights to her practice in Illinois.
In another educational initiative, Dr. Anthony Choi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Mercer University, is developing a curriculum to teach artificial intelligence (AI) to middle and high school students. This effort is supported by a $1 million grant from NASA’s Space Grant K-12 Inclusiveness and Diversity in STEM program. Dr. Choi’s project, NASA ML-Bots, includes five modules covering AI fundamentals, neural networks, genetic algorithms, natural language processing, and a competition centered on NASA’s Artemis campaign. The curriculum aims to prepare students for careers in AI and enable them to make informed decisions about AI technology in society.
