![Nuns from Jangchub Choeling Nunnery in Mundgod, South India, begin the creation of the Medicine Buddha Sand Mandala at the Peter J. Gomes Chapel in Lewiston, Maine, as part of the Jangchub Jamtse Tour, on June 24, 2024. The mandala is part of the Jangchub Jamtse Tour and aims to generate positive energy and mend physical, emotional, spiritual, and environmental ailments.The event is open to the public until June 28, 2024. (Theophil Syslo | Bates College)](https://www.bates.edu/news/files/2024/06/4x6_-200x133.webp)
2014 Fulbright recipients: Ashley Lepre
![Ashley Lepre '13 is a 2014 recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Student Grant. (Sarah Crosby/Bates College)](https://www.bates.edu/news/files/2014/05/E_140516_Fulbright_Lepre_91-L-600x400.jpg)
Ashley Lepre ’13 is a 2014 recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Student Grant. (Sarah Crosby/Bates College)
An English major, Ashley Lepre ’13 of Portland, Maine, was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Bulgaria.
Lepre brings considerable teaching experience to her assistantship in Bulgaria. An education and philosophy minor, in addition to her major in English, she worked with students in a middle school English-language-learners (ELL) program, with ninth- and 10th-grade English students and with fifth-grade special-needs students, all in Lewiston.
“From my teaching experience, I discovered the connectivity of all aspects of a student’s life,” she says. “The student-community relationship in Bulgaria will supplement my understanding of American school systems.”
A dean’s list student at Bates, Lepre was a key member of the women’s rugby club, an experience that gave her “a fundamental confidence in my abilities as an athlete, a leader and a teacher, as well as a powerful drive to reach for the best in myself,” she says. She hopes to use her interest in rugby as a means for engaging with the community in Bulgaria where she teaches.
Upon completing her assistantship in Bulgaria, Lepre is interested in working in ELL educational environments and undertaking graduate studies.
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