Bringing the World to Nebraska, and Nebraska to the World
- contact: Sam Peshek - Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications
- email: unonews@unomaha.edu
Tucked away in northern Romania between Transylvania and the Romania-Ukraine border, the Maramureș region isn’t on many Nebraskans’ radars. But one UNO graduate is making sure Nebraska is on theirs.
At a university in Romania’s Maramureș region, the country’s most rural area, a University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) alumna is playing a key role in a vital but sometimes overlooked effort to make the world a safer and more prosperous place: cultural diplomacy.
Amber Johnson, a 2019 UNO International Studies graduate and Goodrich Scholar, is currently serving as a U.S. Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA), helping Romanian university students build English fluency and forming lasting cultural connections through her independently taught courses in US-UK History, Philosophy, and Sustainable Tourism. Her experiences as a student and working internationally after graduation show how international exchange programs can benefit not just the United States, but Nebraskans, too.
Johnson’s global journey started as an undergraduate at UNO, where she worked in the International Studies office and earned a prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship to study abroad in Slovenia in 2016. Then, in the summer of 2017, she served as a cultural ambassador with the Taiwan U.S. Alliance (TUSA) Global Ambassador Program, intensively studying Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese culture in Tainan, Taiwan. During the fall semester of that year, she studied at the University of Tartu in Estonia.
Those experiences sparked a passion for international collaboration that eventually led her to complete a master’s degree in the European Union and now to her current Fulbright role in Romania.
“The academic exchange and connection with a new country led me to further fall in love with the world,” she said. “It forever changed me for the better and enabled me to be one of the most outspoken promoters of Nebraska abroad to friends, colleagues, and strangers alike. Whether in the U.S. or abroad, I was often the first Nebraskan someone had met.”
Established in 1946, Fulbright grants enable Americans to study, teach, and conduct research abroad while also welcoming international scholars to the United States. These exchanges deepen global relationships and reinforce America’s commitment to cross-cultural cooperation. And they bring direct benefits home to Nebraska.
“These programs do amazing things for visitors to the U.S. who return home to their countries to share about their experiences, for those who decide to call Nebraska home and further establish their professional lives and for Nebraskans, who share about their home state and learn a little bit more about the world. I share this in the hopes that we as Nebraskans can continue to support these global connections that benefit us economically, socially, and globally.”
Beyond education, these relationships also boost Nebraska’s economy. In 2024, Nebraska exported $8.2 billion of goods to the world, and in 2022, exports from Nebraska supported an estimated 63,000 jobs.
Johnson experienced firsthand how programs like Fulbright foster goodwill and professional networks that underpin those trade relationships.
“Nebraskans mutually benefit from international exchanges organized through these federally funded programs. Highly skilled professors and researchers, as well as students from abroad, further collaboration and innovative learning on our Nebraska campuses,” Johnson said. “Additionally, Nebraskans abroad through these programs promote American culture, share about Nebraska, and further cement cultural and business connections as well as positive relationships that keep us globally connected.”
Johnson’s work comes at a time when diplomacy is more important than ever. In an increasingly interconnected world, programs like Fulbright, Gilman, and Critical Language Scholarships serve as powerful tools for building mutual understanding, reducing global tensions, and fostering long-term alliances. As global challenges grow more complex, these exchanges offer timely and effective ways to promote peace, share knowledge, and strengthen America’s role as a trusted partner on the world stage.
“Amber is one of many UNO students who has benefitted from U.S. investment in global cultural exchanges,” Director of UNO’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships, Dr. Lucy Morrison, Ph.D., said. “She represents not just our university, but also our state with courage and curiosity as a Nebraskan abroad. Amber reminds us that global engagement begins with genuine human connection, and she shares that ethos and her unique talents with the world. UNO is proud of our students venturing overseas and their soft diplomacy efforts, putting Nebraska on the map with their cultural engagement.”
As her teaching work in Romania comes to a close this summer, Johnson remains a proud ambassador for her home state. And through her work and advocacy for exchange programs like the ones that shaped her, she’s helping to ensure Nebraska remains not just on the map, but at the heart of global connection and cooperation.
“Nebraska has strong links to global connections through trade, innovation, and cultural exchange,” Johnson said. “Programs like these are ones that help us maintain these vital connections.”
About the University of Nebraska at Omaha
Located in one of America’s best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.
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