Dr. Dorothy Holley, a chemistry teacher at West Johnston High School, recently participated in the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program with a visit to Senegal. The program allows U.S. educators to learn about international education systems and bring back new perspectives to their students.
Dr. Holley has been teaching for 30 years, including 25 years in chemistry, and joined West Johnston High in 2020. She holds degrees from Wake Forest University, Montreat College, and North Carolina State University.
As part of a group of 21 educators from across the United States, Dr. Holley traveled to Senegal, which is located on the Atlantic coast of Africa and is recognized as one of the world’s poorest countries but values education highly.
During her time in Senegal, Dr. Holley was paired with an English teacher as her host and helped introduce American culture to local students. She incorporated chemistry into English lessons by using the periodic table. Her students at West Johnston High contributed by designing a periodic table that included information about their school and colleges in North Carolina.
“I got to talk about North Carolina and a day in the life of a student through the periodic table, which was cool,” Dr. Holley said.
The experience emphasized global competence for Dr. Holley—a skill set that involves understanding and acting on issues of global importance while considering diverse perspectives and cultures.
She is now connecting with other teachers nationally and internationally who are working to bring global competency into classrooms. Dr. Holley plans to attend conferences to further develop these ideas for use throughout Johnston County Public Schools.
“The world has come to us, and if we can do a good job with it, we’ll all be better. When one wins, we all win,” she said.
