Ani Zakarian ’25 Wins Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship
The politics major will teach English in Armenia.
August 25, 2025
Communications Staff
Photo credit: Abe Frato
Ani Zakarian ’25 has earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to Armenia for the 2025-2026 academic year. At Oberlin, she was a politics major. She also served as the president of Oberlin Student Cooperative Association. She said that OSCA “defined her Oberlin experience.” Additionally, she was a part of Writers in Residence, which facilitates creative writing workshops for incarcerated young people in Lorain County Juvenile detention center.
What will you be doing with Fulbright, and what are you looking forward to the most?
I will be teaching English in Armenia. I am looking forward to developing on my teaching experiences and investigating Armenian National identity.
How did Oberlin shape or influence you to pursue the Fulbright?
This year, I pursued my honors thesis in politics alongside my advisor, Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics Amanda Zadorian, in preparation for the award. My thesis was titled “Proximity to Genocide and the Israel-Palestine Conflict in the Armenian Diaspora: Arsakh, the Holy Land and the Lebanese Civil War.”
How does pursuing the Fulbright align with your post-college life and career goals?
I intend to pursue a career in labor organizing and I believe that Fulbright will be excellent practice in learning to build solidarity and connections with people of varying backgrounds and identities.
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