Lena Millard-Kish
I’m a senior at the University of Washington majoring in Speech and Hearing Sciences with a minor in Nutrition. I’m working toward a career as a pediatric speech-language pathologist, with particular interests in multilingual language development and inclusive communication, especially for neurodivergent children. In graduate school, I hope to join UW’s Child Language Research Lab, where researchers study how multilingual children acquire grammar in order to identify early language delays. This year my honors research has focused on identifying efficient and cost-effective audiology screening tools to support wider access to care. I’ve spent a lot of time outside the classroom working with children in settings where learning happens through play. For the past six years, I’ve worked as a Red Cross–certified lifeguard and swim instructor. I've also tutored a middle school student with ADHD to teach her executive function skills to prepare her for high school. Since 2025, I’ve worked with Evergreen Speech and Hearing in Redmond, Washington, where I’ve explored how new AI tools can be used thoughtfully in clinical environments. I've played on UW’s Element ultimate frisbee team since freshman year, and I compete on a club team during the summer. Ultimate has taught me the value of resilience, teamwork, and community. If awarded the Fulbright, I hope to start an after-school English language ultimate program in my host community as a fun, low pressure way for students to practice their communication skills. I applied to the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant program in Spain because I want to learn alongside my students as much as I teach them. Spain’s Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) model, which weaves English into everyday classroom subjects, aligns with my interest in meaningful, real-world language learning. Immersing myself in a multilingual environment will strengthen my Spanish and deepen my understanding of language learning so I can better support bilingual children and their families as an SLP.
Goals
My short term goals are to graduate with honors from the Speech and Hearing Sciences department this coming June and to continue balancing classes, work, and competing at a national level with UW women's ultimate frisbee team. My long term goal is to go to grad school to become a pediatric speech therapist who works with neurodiverse and bilingual children.
Tips
My main tip is to start your application early so that you have time to bounce ideas off other other people, find a country you're passionate about, talk to your letter writers, and meet with OMFSA advisors.
