Hillary Landers

Hillary graduated from Western with University Honors. She spent the following academic year teaching English to college students in Brazil on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, where her natural aptitude for teaching was evident in the pride she took in her work and students. Hillary traveled South America extensively, arriving in Guatemala the day after the proposed "Mayan Apocalypse." She and her sister stayed with a Mayan host family, whose native language was Tz’utujil. Her host mother, Graciel, was the president of a weaving co-op in the pueblo of San Juan, along lake Atitlan, and gave Hillary and her sister lessons on the backstrap loom and taught them how to make natural dyes. Hillary described the entire experience as “pretty magical!” Hillary credits her success with the Fulbright experience to her enthusiasm and friendliness, making her an excellent representative of the United States.