Fellows Helping Fellows

At the height of the Los Angeles fires, FFT Fellow Andrea Lofthouse Quesada posted on Instagram that she and her home were safe. With her permission, we shared her post as a small form of encouragement for her and all of the educators providing students some sense of normalcy as fires continued to rage. 

On the opposite coast in Jersey City, NJ, Emily Litman (also a 2015 Fellow) messaged us, asking if she could send Andrea a gift card. Turns out this isn’t the first time she’s come to the aid of a fellow Fellow. At a 2016 Global Classrooms Symposium orientation in Washington DC, Emily met FFT Fellow Rebecca Robinson (Owasso, OK).  The two stayed in touch and when Becca’s son was studying abroad in Argentina, she stayed with Emily who was there for the summer. The two plan to collaborate on a 2026 grant proposal next year! AND, the following summer when Emily was in Oaxaca, Mexico, she sought out Nancy MacBride (Voluntown, CT) who was pursuing an FFT fellowship there. 

“Even when a fellowship is over, it is never really over. Being part of FFT not only opened the door for me to create my own professional development that was beyond my wildest dreams, it has allowed me to connect with other educators, to encourage them to do the same, and to continue on my own lifelong path of growth and learning.”