Musicology graduate finds community in Colombia through Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award

Clara Celedon

Fri, 04/03/26
Amelia Rivers, a recent graduate of the College of Music, at El Libertador Plaza Principal while traveling to Jardín, Colombia
Amelia Rivers, a recent graduate of the College of Music, at El Libertador Plaza Principal while traveling to Jardín, Colombia. (Amelia Rivers)

As a universal language, music often has the power to connect people across borders. Recent Florida State University graduate Amelia Rivers is advancing that idea in Rionegro, Colombia, where she’s using education and the arts to build intercultural community as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s premier international exchange initiative designed to foster mutual understanding between U.S. citizens and people around the world. Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant recipients are selected each year for their academic or professional excellence and demonstrated leadership potential in their fields, with the program operating in over 160 countries. The Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Award places recipients directly in classrooms abroad to assist local English teachers and facilitate intercultural exchange.

“Fulbright is an opportunity giver,” she said. “Now that Fulbright has happened, the doors have opened.”

Rivers, who earned a master’s degree in musicology from the College of Music in 2025, has been teaching English at the Universidad Católica de Oriente (UCO) since the summer through the ETA. For her, Fulbright offers more than the chance to teach abroad —it’s also an extension of lifelong commitments to global learning and citizenship through music.

“I love meeting new people, knowing their stories and sharing my story,” she said. “The ETA is all about that exchange.”

Amelia Rivers, a recent graduate of the College of Music, visiting “La Cueva del Esplendor,” a waterfall located outside of Jardín, Colombia
Amelia Rivers, a recent graduate of the College of Music, visiting “La Cueva del Esplendor,” a waterfall located outside of Jardín, Colombia. (Amelia Rivers)

As the daughter of a pilot, Rivers grew up traveling to places like China, Egypt, New Zealand and Peru with her family — an experience she refers to affectionately as “cultural whiplash.” She taught her brother how to count on the Great Wall of China and learned how to play guitar from local kids in the Andes Mountains, experiences she said primed her for a future full of global endeavors.

“I was able to have those conversations about cultural exchange at a very young age,” she said. “It really encouraged me to become a cultural ambassador for the United States.”

Back in the U.S., Rivers joined a traveling choir, the Spivey Hall Children’s Choir, in middle and high school, blending her love of seeing the world with her passion for music. She once performed in a choir for Pope Francis in Vatican City, an experience that she says was her “window to the world.”

“Choir has always been a source of community building for me,” she said.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in music arts and English from Mercer University, Rivers decided to blend these interests further and pursue a master’s degree in musicology from FSU’s College of Music.

At FSU, Rivers engaged with other cultures through one of the nation’s largest and most comprehensive World Music Ensemble programs, where she learned and performed Andean, Brazilian and Balinese Gamelan music traditions. Her master’s thesis focused on the political significance of “joropo,” a folkloric dance genre native to the llaneros of Colombia and Venezuela.

Amelia Rivers, a recent graduate of the College of Music, with the FSU Andean Ensemble, which performs music from the many traditions of the South American central Andes
Amelia Rivers, a recent graduate of the College of Music, with the FSU Andean Ensemble, which performs music from the many traditions of the South American central Andes. (Amelia Rivers)

“I wanted to learn more about the music in the world,” she said.  

This research brought her to Bogotá, Colombia, for the first time in 2023, where she visited music libraries, interviewed joropo artists and attended the “Joropo en el Parque” (Joropo in the Park) music festival.

“I fell in love with the culture of hospitality in the community,” she said.

Rivers had heard of Fulbright through her grandfather. He studied French medieval literature in Germany in 1962 through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, an experience that she said changed his career.

“I’ve always felt that my grandfather and I had a kindred mind,” she said.

As a Fulbright ETA, Rivers is responsible for hosting presentations and activities, facilitating interactions between students and helping hone their grammar skills. Tailoring her methods toward music, Rivers also plays the piano and sings in a rock band with her students, helping them learn English through songs by bands like Green Day and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

“We’re playing mostly American rock music because they want to practice their English, and I’m their English teacher,” she said. “There’s a big rock scene in Colombia.”

At the other end of the exchange, Rivers is learning more about local music from the Colombian community and her peers. She’s joined two choirs during her experience — “Coro Polifónico” (polyphonic choir) at the Universidad Católica de Oriente and a professional women’s choir called “Polimnia.” Through Coro Polifónico, she’s performed at UCO’s cultural festivals and Christmas concert series and has toured across Medellín and Bogotá with Polimnia.

Amelia Rivers, a recent graduate of the College of Music, alongside “Coro Polifónico,” UCO’s polyphonic choir, during their Christmas concert series
Amelia Rivers, a recent graduate of the College of Music, alongside “Coro Polifónico,” UCO’s polyphonic choir, during their Christmas concert series. (Amelia Rivers)

“I’m trying to soak up as much as I can,” she said. “It’s been easy to plug into the local music culture because of the knowledge FSU gave me.”

To bridge the arts with impact, Rivers has additionally been collaborating with the “Huracán de Sueños” foundation, an after-school center that brings classes and activities to vulnerable children in the area. There, she is helping to run a music program and assisting the kids with their English homework.

“Music is the way that I interact with others in Colombia, because everybody loves music here,” she said. “It’s such an easy and fulfilling starting point for cultural exchange.”

Amelia Rivers, a recent graduate of the College of Music, volunteering with the Huracán de Sueños foundation. Led by Patricia Garcia, the foundation provides after-school activities to underprivileged children in the area
Amelia Rivers, a recent graduate of the College of Music, volunteering with the Huracán de Sueños foundation. Led by Patricia Garcia, the foundation provides after-school activities to underprivileged children in the area. (Amelia Rivers)

Rounding out her role as a cultural ambassador, Rivers is also interning with the U.S. Embassy and Education USA, which helps students in Colombia earn a college education in the U.S.

While Rivers is not yet sure where her passions will take her following the Fulbright award, she hopes to continue riding the international wave.

“I’ve been bitten by the Fulbright bug,” she said.

For now, she believes that Rionegro is where she is “meant to be.”

“I feel like I have my dream job in my dream location,” she said. “I’m still trying to convince myself that this is real.”

Interested in applying for a Fulbright? 

Graduate students: Contact Keith McCall, assistant director of the FSU Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards, at kmccall2@fsu.edu.

Undergraduates and recent graduates: Contact Bonnie Garcia-Gloeckner, assistant director of the FSU Office of National Fellowships, at bjgarcia@fsu.edu.

Faculty: Contact Peggy Wright-Cleveland, director of FSU Faculty Development, at mwrightc@fsu.edu.

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