Finding Her Way Around the World: May May Drimer ’20 Named Fulbright English Teaching Assistant

For May May Drimer ’20, the journey to Argentina began long before she received a Fulbright Award to teach English there. It began in the Chatham Hall art room, in conversations with mentors, friendships with Spanish-speaking classmates, and a growing curiosity about the world beyond campus.

Today, May May is preparing to return to a country that has already had a profound impact on her. As a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Argentina, she will have the opportunity to teach, learn, build relationships, and become an active member of the community she once experienced as a study-abroad student.

“I am looking forward to returning to a country that welcomed me with warmth, a vibrant social justice scene, and a passion for soccer. I hope to look back on my time in Argentina not as a foreigner who came and left, but as a global ambassador who established roots in her second home.”

While attending William & Mary, May May was offered a position as a teaching assistant for an Intermediate Spanish class. Drawing from her own experiences learning the language, she helped fellow students navigate their challenges by sharing the tips and strategies that had helped her along the way.

Her experience quickly developed into a passion for teaching. After college, May May spent two years in Tenerife, Spain, working as a middle school English auxiliary. The relationships she built through language and the classroom, along with her own growth as an educator, ultimately inspired her to pursue the Fulbright opportunity in Argentina.

As an ETA, May May hopes to expand her impact in the classroom while also learning from her students and community.

“Stepping outside of the study abroad sphere will allow for deeper participation in Argentine society and dialogue as a teacher and learner. I want to broaden my teaching involvement to positively impact the futures of Argentine students and assist them in not only learning the language but also understanding the intricacies of American culture and its relationship to Argentina. Outside the classroom, I plan to focus my supplementary activities on my love of traditional art and my continued interest in health-based volunteering with non-profit organizations to engage with the Argentine community.”

Outside the classroom, she plans to explore her love of traditional art and continue her interest in health-based volunteering with nonprofit organizations.

May May’s connection to Argentina began during her junior year at William & Mary, when she participated in a Middlebury public health study-abroad program in Buenos Aires. The experience brought together her two majors, Public Health and Hispanic Studies, and gave her an opportunity to engage deeply with the community.

While interning at the Borda Psychiatric Hospital, she gained a new perspective on social class and human rights. She also designed and led weekly art therapy workshops where patients expressed themselves through songs, painting, and photo collages. Over time, May May found that the relationships she built through those workshops helped create a space of vulnerability, compassion, and mutual understanding. “I strengthened my abilities to empathize, remain positive, and actively listen, finding my stride in a place that once seemed intimidating,” she says.

That experience changed the way she viewed international travel. Argentina became more than a faraway destination—it became a place where she could learn from different perspectives, contribute to a community, and continue growing.

“Armed with teaching skills and an enthusiasm for a country I cherish, serving as an ETA in Argentina will further my contribution to this invaluable cross-cultural dialogue,” she says.

For May May, the seeds of that curiosity were planted at Chatham Hall. “Attending Chatham Hall allowed me access to many international and multicultural opportunities at such a young age, and it’s where my journey abroad started,” she says. She especially remembers the art room and her relationship with her art teacher, Mrs. Morley. “I often spent my free hours and weekends in the studio, painting, making ceramics, and talking to Mrs. Susan Morley (Art Chair from 2010 to 2020) about her experiences traveling and working in Spanish-speaking countries,” May May recalls.

Her friendships also expanded her world. She loved conversing with Spanish-speaking roommates and friends from Mexico and Spain, and the possibility of experiencing other cultures through language and immersion quickly became exciting to her. Those relationships and experiences helped shape what came next: studying Hispanic Studies at William & Mary, spending seven months studying abroad in Argentina, teaching English in Spain, and now returning to Argentina as a Fulbright scholar.

“These special bonds ignited my desire to later study Hispanic Studies at W&M, spend seven months studying abroad in Argentina, and teach English in Spain,” she says. And although May May’s journey has taken her far from Chatham, the connections she made here remain close. “I am very grateful for my Chatham friends and mentors—I still keep in contact with many!—and know that they are cheering me on in my next adventure.”

From the Chatham Hall art room to a classroom in Argentina, May May’s journey is a wonderful example of what can happen when curiosity is nurtured, relationships matter, and a young woman is encouraged to see the world as a place full of possibility.

We can’t wait to see where she goes next. ¡Buen viaje, May May!