A 2018 graduate of Shaler Area High School has won a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship for teaching in the Canary Islands.

Gabrielle Girton, 21, is a senior at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, where she is majoring in environmental science. She lived in Shaler while attending high school and currently lives with her family in Millvale.

The U.S. government sponsors the Fulbright Program, which awards grants annually to nearly 8,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals from the United States and 160 countries.

The Fulbright program partners with 140 countries to offer U.S. students the opportunity to pursue graduate studies, conduct research, or teach English abroad.

“For me, working in the Canary Islands will put me outside of my comfort zone,” Girton said. “If I can be successful in this new environment, I can be successful anywhere.”

Girton will work as a teaching assistant teaching English to Spanish-speaking students . She’ll also work on community projects involving marine biology, including beach cleanups.

“I’m so proud to see her living her dreams,” said Mary Girton, Gabrielle’s mother.

When the Fulbright scholarship winner was 4 years old, she told her mother she was going to another environmentally significant set of islands, the Galapagos Islands. She’s already been on a mission to Nicaragua.

“Gabby had the support of her family and sisters, and they always told her she could do anything she could do,” Mary Girton said. “They helped her achieve by listening to her, letting her bounce off ideas and then stood beside her when she needed rides and more than a pat on the back.”

She added that the Shaler Area School District set her up for success.

Girton is excited about the teaching experience and immersing herself in the culture of the Canary Islands. She is fluent in Spanish. Girton was the president of the Spanish Honors Society at Shaler.

“I’m excited that I actually get to put my language skills to work,” she said.

She applied for the Fulbright scholarship in October. She’ll be in the Canary Islands from September until June 2023. The scholarship will pay for her living expenses, transportation, teaching supplies and a stipend.

When she completes her work in the Canary Islands, she will move to Rhode Island where she will be a middle school science teacher for Teach for America.

She plans to pursue a master’s degree from Brown University in urban education policy.

Her end goal is to work in administration and education planning.

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