Higgin Awuor is our current Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant from Kenya. She brings a wealth of knowledge in Swahili language and East African culture. Before joining us, Higgin worked as a Special Education and English teacher. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education from Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya. Her role at Pittsburgh includes, but is not limited to, facilitating language tables and creating opportunities for students to learn Swahili in an informal and engaging setting. She is passionate about cultural exchange and looks forward to not only sharing her heritage but also learning from the American community.
After studying Swahili at Pitt, she developed a strong interest in East Africa and studied abroad in both Tanzania and Kenya through Fulbright-Hays GPA. At Pitt she serves as the President of FORGE (Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth & Empowerment) which is an organization that educates students about refugee crises and provides students with the opportunity to tutor immigrant families in the Pittsburgh area. She also serves as Vice-President of ALSA (African Languages Student Association) and is a member of Model African Union. She hopes to continue using her Swahili skills and experiences in East Africa to provide support for East African immigrant and refugee communities!