Palm Beach Atlantic University Alumna Named Fulbright Winner to Taiwan
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — Kristina “Kristi” Martin, a 2021 graduate in
elementary education, has won a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) award to Taiwan
for the 2021-22 academic year. She is PBA’s second Fulbright Award winner to Taiwan, and her
win marks the fourth year in a row that a PBA student has earned the prestigious Fulbright ETA.
Martin, of West Palm Beach, hopes to leave for Taiwan in July, though her trip could be
delayed as the country continues to deal with COVID-19. She is to teach English in Taipei,
Taiwan’s largest city.
“Taiwan has an amazing education system,” said Martin, “so I am very excited to work
with the teachers and students to learn from them as well.”
The Fulbright program, operating under the U.S. Department of State, sends recent
graduates of American institutions abroad for a program of cultural ambassadorship and
intellectual exchange and service work. “It is truly an honor to be trusted with such a big
responsibility,” Martin said.
She is the daughter of PBA alumni Randy and Heidi Martin. Her brother, Kyle, attends
PBA as a Farish Scholar. Randy Martin is president of The King’s Academy in West Palm
Beach.
Kristi Martin plans to teach in the U.S. after her Fulbright appointment. “I love working
with kindergarten through second-grade students,” she said. She hopes to earn her master’s
degree “so that one day I would be able to impact the education community as a principal or
assistant principal.”
Martin applied for the highly competitive Fulbright award with the help of
PBA’s Prestigious National Scholarship Program. Tessa Walk, a December 2020 graduate in
psychology, was named an alternate for a Fulbright ETA award to South Korea.
PBA has produced seven Fulbright ETA winners in the last four years. In addition, Dr.
Gregory Perreault, a 2006 alumnus, won a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Austria, to
teach and conduct research at University of Vienna. He is an assistant professor of journalism
at Appalachian State University in North Carolina.
Palm Beach Atlantic University is a private, independent university offering
undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees in West Palm Beach, Orlando and online.
The University is dedicated to the integration of Christian principles to prepare students for
learning, leadership and service.