October 6, 2025
Teresa Davison (SCI ’25) is pursuing her passion at the intersection of computing and linguistics through the Fulbright Program in Germany in 2025.
It is SCI’s goal to ensure its undergraduate students are encouraged to explore how their computing skills can make an impact across other areas of study. In today’s current moment, where technology continues to reshape every field, there are many opportunities for those in computing disciplines to innovate and bring fresh perspectives to new areas.
For example, coming into SCI, Davison majored in computer science while taking linguistics courses out of personal interest – but she recalls the course CS1671: Human Language Technologies with Dr. Diane Litman as the moment she realized she could bring those two worlds together. This discovery inspired a project where Davison used data science methods to explore how different languages group concepts under the same word, which taught her both technical skills in coding along with philosophical concepts about language.
“My computer science, math and statistics classes all showed me how to think logically, break down problems, come up with possible solutions, and critically analyze topics. All of these are skills that can be applied anywhere,” said Davison.
In the future, Davison says that she sees herself using her skills to improve language learning technologies so that they could be more inclusive for different communities – for example, people who may not have access to costly courses or tutors may face barriers to learning new languages. Using her computing and linguistic knowledge, she hopes to create a more accessible solution.
Pitt has been recognized as one of the biggest contributors of Fulbright Award winners 10 times since the 2013-14 cycle. The program offers students the opportunity to study, conduct research, or teach English abroad. One of its track options, the English Teaching Assistant (ETA) award, places participants in classrooms abroad to assist local English teachers.
“I’m so excited by all the travel opportunities and the people I‘ll get to meet. This will have a long lasting impact through the connections I meet, cultural lessons, and self-confidence that comes from taking such a big step,” said Davison.
Today, she is currently pursuing the ETA award at a school in Germany. One of the most impactful parts of the experience is “understanding what it is like to fully exist in a language environment entirely different from your native language,” Davison said. She also notes that she is excited about all of the opportunities that she could pursue after the Fulbright Program ends: she had considered contributing her skills to a larger company, creating her own startup, or continuing her education by getting a PhD in the field.
Davison’s story speaks to how using your resources and finding what energizes you is the first step to a successful undergrad experience. If Fulbright sounds like a program you may be interested in, read more here.