Fulbright Taiwan is mourning the tragic death of Kiah Duggins, our 2017-2018 ETA, among the victims of the DC American Airlines crash on January 29, 2025.
Kiah served in an elementary school in Guanshan, a small town in Taitung County on Taiwan’s Pacific coast, co-teaching English in a school of 350 students, many from indigenous tribal communities.
Kiah was a new English Teaching Assistant (ETA), dedicated to making her students more confident in using English.
A graduate of Wichita State University where she majored in Spanish, Economics, and International Business, her university professors described her as “phenomenal, bright, and passionate.”
In her Fulbright application, Kiah wrote about her commitment to international education and her values of “entering uncomfortable situations with the humility it takes to listen and create relevant, reconciliatory learning environments…” and “creating joy, light, and learning in the classroom.” She lived these values during her Fulbright year in Taiwan.
Kiah followed her year in Taiwan with law studies at Harvard, where she earned the JD and worked in legal aid for clients with limited resources. She was an aspiring law school professor at Howard University.
We are greatly saddened by Kiah’s untimely passing, and express our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and colleagues.