Shepard teacher leads lesson on baseball, softball in Senegal

Shepard High School foreign language teacher Kelly Karstrand learned last year that she had won a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms fellowship. Thrilled at the adventure to come, the French teacher set to planning.

She would lead lessons in English at a high school in the West African nation. As she learned about Senegalese culture, Karstrand naturally shared aspects of America.

Part of that include teaching her new friends about baseball and softball. She asked Shepard varsity softball coach Kelsey Clifford and varsity baseball coach Frank DiFoggio to donate Astro T-shirts so she could outfit her teams properly.

In her messages from Senegal during the trip, Karstrand has relayed obvious enthusiasm for the experience despite her airline losing her luggage and all the gifts she had brought on the trip over. Fortunately, the bags and gifts were delivered to her within a couple of days.

"Today I spent the day in my high school (Lycée Gandon.) I co-taught some English classes and taught the PE class how to play baseball," she said.

Karstrand was one of 70 American educators this year to earn a Fulbright teaching fellowship.