Vestavia alumni receive Fulbright scholarships

Two Vestavia Hills High School alumni have recently been named Fulbright Scholars and will travel to Europe in the fall to begin new, exciting chapters in their lives.

Both Sophia Warner and Lillie Stephens will work as English teaching assistants in Germany and Spain, respectively.

Sophia Warner

Warner’s dream of not only working at the United Nations but serving as its leader, the secretary-general, started in sixth grade at Pizitz Middle School, during a model United Nations event.

It was during that event that Warner learned about human trafficking. She learned traffickers in Bulgaria, her mother’s home country, targeted girls even as young as third grade, like her cousin who lived in the country.

Out of “pure fear” of what could happen if that situation wasn’t changed, Warner set out on a path to change the world through advocacy. She couldn’t imagine being aware of serious issues in the world and not doing anything about them.

“It genuinely haunts me,” Warner said.

While she won’t be working at the UN just yet, Warner will take a big step in that direction as she heads to Berlin to spend time with German students and help them learn English.

Warner, a 2015 VHHS graduate and 2019 University of Alabama graduate, will teach at a German high school.

During her junior year at Alabama, Warner was “venting” to German professor Matthew Feminella about how she felt “locked in” to law school, and wasn’t sure if that was the best fit for her immediately after graduation.

After listening to Warner’s thoughts, Feminella suggested she apply for the Fulbright scholarship, though Warner had never heard about the program.

“I was talking about the program without knowing it,” Warner said.

The scholarship allows recipients to teach or do research, Warner said, and going to Germany made sense, as she graduated with minors in German, Russian and liberal arts, the latter coming through the Blount Scholars Program.

Warner has been learning German since sixth grade, when she started at Pizitz. While she’s been to eastern Europe, including traveling to Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, she’s never been to western Europe.

Warner filled out the application while in Bulgaria, talking to her mother’s parents. She received her top choice of placement in Berlin, something she didn’t think would happen.

“I think I can represent Alabama really well,” Warner said.

Warner majored in international relations and also served as co-founder and president of the Legal Research Club at UA, which published the first undergraduate law journal in the state’s history. The proudest moment of Warner’s life, she said, is when she recently held the first physical copy of the journal in her hands.

Warner also served on the university’s mock trial team, participated in the Alabama Debate Society and served as vice president of Industry Immersion, which connects current UA students with various industry professionals from UA across the country.

While at Vestavia, Warner was on the debate team, swim team, We the People team, the German club and was inducted into the National Honor Society.

During her time at Vestavia, Warner experienced German Day, where students learned and competed in events about German art, music and business. That helped bridge the gap between VHHS and UA, Warner said.

Warner said she’s thought about doing a similar project with an “English Day” in Berlin.

“Germany’s always called to me in a way no other country has,” Warner said. “... I’m just really excited.”

Warner said she’s also hoping to possibly start a debate team and a sales team atthe school.

On Sept. 1, Warner plans to arrive in Germany ahead of orientation on Sept. 9 in Cologne. She’ll be on her own to find a place to live, but transportation to the country is provided for her and the other 139 Fulbright Scholars, she said.

Warner is hopeful she’ll be able to live near a university so she can take French classes and learn another language. In addition to learning German and Russian through her education, she’s conversationally fluent in Bulgarian.

During her time in Germany, Warner said she expects to be able to travel a good bit, and to be able to visit Stephens in Spain.

Warner will return to the U.S. in June 2020.

When she gets back from her time in Germany, Warner plans to attend law school. She’ll start sending applications this fall after she takes the LSAT test.

She said she doesn’t want to pigeonhole herself into one specific area of the law, but to be challenged in different ways. While learning different languages influences one’s worldview, Warner said, knowing the law makes a day-to-day difference.

“The law really does affect every aspect of our lives,” Warner said.

Lillie Stephens

While Lillie Stephens has been to Spain before, she left wanting more after her four-day trip in high school ended.

She’ll have that chance this fall as she travels to Madrid in September to become an English teaching assistant.

“I kind of struggled to understand what the Spanish identity was, so that’s something I’m hoping to learn more about,” Stephens said.

Stephens, 22, graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 2015 and graduated with three majors from Rhodes College in May 2019. Her time at VHHS influenced, to some extent, her choice of all three majors: Spanish, political science and international studies.

During her time at the high school, Stephens toured Spain with her Spanish classes. She credits teachers Amanda Jordan and Mary Virginia Sweeney for helping develop her interest in the language and people.

“Spanish is such a useful language,” Stephens said. “I think it’ll help career-wise to speak Spanish.”

She also joined the We the People team, led by Amy Maddox and Jane Schaefer, which has won numerous state and national championships. That work, which involved researching, debating and communicating civic and political ideas, led her to pursue a career in politics and international work.

While at Rhodes, Stephens said the college pushes its students to study abroad, something she was able to do for one month in Cuba and four months in Argentina.

“It was definitely helpful for my Spanish,” Stephens said of her time in Cuba.

Her trip to Cuba was the first time Stephens was out of the country for an extended period of time, and she said she experienced “culture shock” living in a country that is so close to the United States and yet so different from the American way of life.

In Argentina, she lived in Buenos Aires and experienced a more European style of living, which contrasted greatly with the lifestyle of many Cubans, she said.

In the few months before she leaves for Europe, Stephens is preparing to take the LSAT while interning in Alabama Sen. Doug Jones’ office in Washington D.C.

While in Spain, Stephens will live in Madrid and travel an hour away to a suburb where the high school is located, she said, and will teach 16 hours a week.

In addition to her teaching duties, Stephens will participate in a community-engagement program, more than likely a model United Nations, which she took part in while at Pizitz Middle School.

She’ll also be able to explore the country during her weekly three-day weekends and will spend some time in other countries, though that time is limited. 

Stephens plans to visit Portugal, as she’s never been, and also wants to spend time in Morocco, where she’ll meet up with her best friend who is working in Senegal on a Fulbright scholarship.

In addition to teaching English, Stephens said she wants to be a cultural ambassador for the U.S. and to continue to learn about Spanish culture.

When she returns next June, she said she plans on working in politics before going to law school or obtaining a master’s degree in public policy. From there, she plans on working in the field of civil or human rights, orpossibly immigration.