In Taiwan, a Fulbright Recipient Develops Lessons, Studies Mandarin and Takes Dance Classes

Evan Charles Keeton, a member of the Rutgers Chinese Dance Troupe as an undergraduate, sets his sights on a doctoral degree and a career in academia

Evan Charles Keeton, a Rutgers Honors College graduate who earned two bachelor's degrees, aims to imbue others with cross-cultural understanding through academics.

Since August 2025, Keeton, a recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program grant, has been in Dajia, a suburb of Taichung City in Taiwan, where he teaches English as a foreign language.

The Edison, N.J., resident, who earned a bachelor of science degree in math and bachelor of arts degree in Asian studies from the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, concludes his first year in Taiwan on June 30.

The 23-year-old, who took part in the Lloyd C. Gardner Fellowship Program during his junior year, discusses developing lessons with the help of fellow teachers, learning Mandarin and perhaps pursuing a doctoral degree in East Asian dance studies.

Describe your Fulbright experience.

Fulbright English teaching assistants collaborate with local public schools in their host countries to integrate native English knowledge and American culture into English foreign language classes.

In my case, in Dajia, I'm at my co-school from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday, planning and delivering lessons and extracurricular activities. In Taichung, we have a special program where one semester, we collaborate with other grantees to design a camp that we can take to schools other than our usual co-school.

What have you gained from your time in Taiwan?

Among other things, I've gained an incredible respect for my co-teachers at school - and I've had the good fortune to learn from them.

If there's a certain topic I want to teach, or a certain grammar point that I want to focus on, I can take the bare skeleton of a lesson I came up with and, following their suggestions, transform it into something I actually want to teach. They've shown me lots of ways to make simple reviews into games that involve everyone, and how to scaffold difficult concepts so that students can grasp them more easily.

I really feel like I've grown as an educator thanks to their tireless effort.

How do you plan to apply what you've learned moving forward?

Ultimately, I'd like to become a professor and use my career to further the cross-cultural understanding that Fulbright supports.

Evan Charles Keeton

Rutgers graduate and Fulbright grant recipient

Besides the time I'm spending learning Mandarin, I've also been learning a lot about effective education. Although I can't yet say how I would directly apply this in a university setting, which is where I want to end up, I'm focusing for now on learning as many teaching strategies as I can, and pursuing success in the elementary setting, because you never know what exercise or delivery method might turn out to be transferable to other settings.

Since I plan to go into academia in the long run, I do think it's important to develop these education skills. Students may debate whether skill as an educator is strictly required to become a professor, but succeeding in that aspect is an important goal in my career.

What brought you to Rutgers?

I was already pretty familiar with Rutgers before I started my undergrad here since both of my parents have worked on campus in one capacity or another.

My dad has worked as a professor and is now an administrator, while my mom has worked at the Mason Gross Extension Division as a music educator.

So, Rutgers has never been far from home for me, literally or figuratively, and when it came time to apply for college, it just seemed like the obvious choice. No other school seemed as good of a fit as Rutgers, and it's worked out better than I could have possibly imagined.

What drew you to your field of study?

When I entered Rutgers, I thought I would major in math, eventually going on to pursue a Ph.D.

While I enjoyed my math classes - hence completing the major with a B.S. - I split my time with a variety of dance classes and Asian studies classes.

I came across the book Identity and Diversity: Celebrating Dance in Taiwan through a Byrne seminar, and, after a summer studying abroad in Seoul, I decided to pursue Asian studies, focusing on dance history whenever I could.

The longer I spent in this field, the more I felt like I was in the right place. It was around the end of my sophomore year that I decided I wanted my career to involve my interest in East Asian dance studies.

What are your plans after teaching abroad?

Next year, I'll stay in Taiwan as an English teaching fellow, after which I may spend a year at a Mandarin language institute or in a master's degree program before diving into a Ph.D.

Ultimately, I'd like to become a professor and use my career to further the cross-cultural understanding that Fulbright supports. Sometime in the near future, I'd like to do a Ph.D. in East Asian dance studies.

When not teaching or studying, what are your interests and hobbies?

At Rutgers, I was a member of the Rutgers Chinese Dance Troupe for my entire undergraduate career. Now that I'm no longer at Rutgers, I'm taking advantage of the fact that I'm living in Taiwan to learn more about Chinese dance by taking a class once a week in the city.

Undergraduate and graduate students interested in applying for a Fulbright grant may contact the Rutgers-New Brunswick Office of Distinguished Fellowshipsor the School of Graduate Studies, respectively.