W&L’s James Dixon ’23 Awarded Fulbright to Taiwan Dixon has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Taiwan.

By Emily Innes
April 7, 2023

Washington and Lee University senior James Dixon ’23 has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to teach English in Taiwan. At W&L, Dixon is an international politics major with a double minor in data science-business analytics, and classics. Dixon is a native of Birmingham, Alabama, and graduated from The Altamont School.

Dixon applied for an ETA in Taiwan to further his understanding of international politics. His experience working with children inspired him to pursue teaching opportunities that would allow him to live and work in a country of geopolitical importance.

“My two summers working at a summer camp, first as a counselor and then as a program director, showed me the joy of working with young people,” Dixon said. “I hope to have an experience that I will remember for a lifetime — one that will make me a more globally-minded citizen and develop my communication, leadership and teaching abilities.”

The ETA program in Taiwan is designed to help improve English language instruction in Taiwan’s elementary schools, junior high schools and universities, as well as strengthen the educational and cultural relationships between the United States and Taiwan. English Teaching Assistants engage not only with their students but with the surrounding community through service-oriented projects.

“It is a tremendous honor to be awarded this grant,” Dixon said. “Serving as a cultural ambassador while also immersing myself into a new culture would be an incredible experience.”

On campus, Dixon is a member of Chi Psi fraternity, a class representative to the Executive Committee, and the executive director of Washington and Lee Student Consulting (WLSC). Dixon joined WLSC his sophomore year and is grateful for the mentorship from the organization’s faculty advisor, Lloyd Tanlu.

“James is not only very smart and creative; he is also dependable and principled,” said Tanlu, who is also an associate professor of accounting at W&L. “As one of three executive directors of WLSC, James is someone who everyone can rely on to get things done — from ensuring activities are planned and executed well during the organization’s meetings, to organizing case interview preparation workshops, to planning team-building activities. James is incredibly generous with his time and is willing to help out anyone who asks, whenever anyone asks.”

With the Fulbright award, Dixon will depart in August 2023 for training, with the Taiwanese academic year running from September 2023 through June 2024. Upon completion of the program, Dixon will work at the consulting firm Bain & Co. in their Atlanta office.

The Fulbright Program was established more than 75 years ago to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Washington and Lee University is proud to be included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2022-2023 Fulbright U.S. Students for the fifth consecutive year.

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