A Fulbright Recipient Finds Her Voice—And Her Way

It all began with a little voice.

In the beginning, it wasn’t encouraging. It told her that her dream—earning one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world—might be too big, too out of reach.

But, after Sophie Bergan got a taste of international travel as an undergrad, the little voice changed its tune.

“That little voice in the back of my head that always thought about Fulbright was like, ‘Well, you could just try and throw together an application,’” she says.

Bergan did much more than “throw together” her Fulbright Program application. Her hard work during the process earned her a position as an English teaching assistant at a high school in Madrid, Spain—a prestigious placement.

Now, Bergan lives an enviable life in Spain’s capital city, splitting time between teaching English as a second language to 12- to 15-year-olds, jogging around local parks with a running club of fellow expats and finding the best pastries and coffee the city has to offer.

But her journey to Madrid was winding—and required some self-reflection.

From Type A to ‘personalidad tipo A’

Bergan, from Ankeny, Iowa, was a high-achieving high school student who carried her Type A traits into college at the Korbel School of International Studies—not only majoring in international studies with a concentration in global health and development, but also minoring in Spanish, leadership studies and sustainability.

During her first two years at DU, she remained snugly inside her comfort zone—a driven, ambitious comfort zone, for sure, but a comfort zone no less. While being goal-oriented and always striving for perfection had always worked for her, Bergan wanted something more.

“I did things to check boxes for sure, but I didn't really feel like I was investing myself in anything,” Bergan reflects.

All of that changed when she went abroad her junior year—to Alicante, Spain, and Quito, Ecuador. Bergan says living with host families and speaking mostly Spanish disrupted her routine, jolting her worldview and opening her eyes to new opportunities for growth. It allowed her to consider letting go of what she previously thought her life should look like.

“You really realize how big the world is,” she says. “Shifting my one-track vision for my life led me to make new friends and learn a new language and immerse myself in a new culture. I guess that year really showed me how capable I was.”

Bergan’s transformative time abroad—and that little voice in her head—spurred her to apply for Fulbright.

Dedication to the process

For the Fulbright application process, Bergan says she completed between 20 and 30 drafts of the same essay while she was an undergrad.

“It became my life,” she says. “I lived inside my application; I was obsessed with the process.”

In her first attempt, Bergan wrote what she thought Fulbright would want to hear—but felt like she wasn’t being true to herself. 

Thanks to coaching from the staff at DU’s Office of Scholar Development and Fellowship Advising, Bergan was able to refine her writing and find her voice. She eventually crafted a nontraditional personal statement that took the form of a culinary recipe—an homage to her love of cooking and her goal of helping transform global food systems to mitigate climate change and improve human health.

“Representing myself by talking about food couldn't have been more ‘me,’” she says, reflecting on her motivations. “I thought, Fulbright might not really like this, but I love it, and so this is what I'm going to submit—and it worked out.”

That raw honesty is what Bergan believes landed her the Fulbright position, and she wants other Fulbright hopefuls to take heed of her advice: “It’s super cliché, but be authentic in your application,” she says.

Each day is an opportunity

Fast forward to today—Bergan is living life to the fullest in Madrid and pursuing a master’s degree from DU in Global Environmental Sustainability, with a certificate in Global Health Affairs.

Her life in Spain is a privilege, Bergan says. She says she sees each day as an opportunity to put herself in new situations, even if they’re daunting.

“I'm living here and doing great. I've made friends, and I've built a life for myself, and so I think it's just shown me that even when I'm walking into the unknown or walking into something that is just so unfamiliar, I have built enough trust in myself to know that I can handle it,” she reflects. “I will find my way and it will be okay.”

So, whether she’s leading her school’s Model United Nations program, traveling to Rome to run a half marathon or walking among peacocks in Madrid’s Retiro Park, just know—Sophie Bergan is finally comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Anyone interested in competing for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program or other nationally or internationally competitive awards can work with DU’s new Office of Scholar Development & Fellowship Advising.