2016 - Page 19 of 20 - Fulbright Student Program Blog

Fulbright: A Love Story

February 14, 2016

Fulbrighters Tobi and Mariana

Our Fulbright Programs started with a Fulbright Gateway Orientation. As with any event these days, there was a Facebook group so that grantees could meet and find people who were going to our same host university. Tobi and I met there. We were both going to be studying at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and we started talking online. It was great to meet someone who was going through the same things as I was, and it was comforting to know that I would already have a friend in the city that would be home for the next two years.

August 20, 2012 came fast. It was the day I was to fly from Mexico City to Jackson, Mississippi for my Fulbright Gateway Orientation. It was an exciting time, and I was thrilled to meet so many other grantees. Tobi and I met after the first orientation session, when everyone was just standing around meeting new people. Suddenly, he came up to me and said, “You’re Mariana.” I remember thinking to myself that I really liked him when we went to a Mexican restaurant later and he asked me what to order. I suggested a popular beer cocktail called a Michelada. I didn’t think he would like it because Germans have a specific way they like their beer and that is with, well, just beer. This cocktail had everything from lime juice to hot sauce—he liked it. Success!

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Foreign Fulbright

Fun with Microscopic Living Creatures on Fulbright

February 11, 2016

Seanghuoy Ho, 2012-2014, Cambodia examining antibacterial compounds’ efficacy against the bacterial community known as “biofilm” in the laboratory at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

In honor of the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are re-sharing Cambodian Fulbrighter Seanghuoy Ho’s post about her journey towards becoming a microbiologist, the research she conducted during her grant at Rutgers University, and how she plans on sharing her work back home in Cambodia.

When I was a little girl, I once watched a science program on TV in which I saw people wearing long white coats and goggles, holding long, round tubes. The tubes contained cloudy solutions and the people were viewing these solutions under machines called microscopes. I learned from that TV show that those solutions contained bacteria and that they were living creatures. Bacteria come in different shapes and colors, and need food, oxygen and specific temperatures in order to survive. As a kid, I was excited to learn more about these tiny creatures, even though at that time, I had no clue as to why people would want to study them. I dreamed about becoming a scientist one day and conducting research on these wonderful, tiny living things.

Now, thanks to a Fulbright Foreign Student grant, I am a master’s degree student in microbiology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Since my childhood, I’ve learned a great deal about microbes, specifically bacteria. I realize that I mostly saw bacteria on TV when they caused an outbreak. The majority of bacteria, however, are harmless and even beneficial to human beings. Antibiotics, chemical compounds produced by particular bacteria and used to treat many diseases, are one typical example of their benefits.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright

Highlights from the 2016 Atlanta Fulbright Enrichment Seminar

February 10, 2016

A core pillar of American life – from the boroughs of New York to the districts of Los Angeles – remains volunteerism. Through the act of giving back to the local community, participants embrace various kinds of service, build strong relationships, and impact society in innumerable positive ways, both large and small.

The 2016 Atlanta Fulbright Enrichment Seminar, held in Atlanta, Georgia, embodied this ideal of civic duty, in tandem with exploring U.S. electoral processes and traditions, from February 4-7, 2016. Over four engaging days, the 133 foreign Fulbrighters convened to explore U.S. political values, participated in a range of volunteer activities throughout Atlanta, and truly put “Democracy in Action.”

The Fulbright Program drew on the wisdom of Kerwin Swint, PhD, Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University, to guide and inform student discussions. A reputable writer and author, Swint’s work on electoral politics, media studies, and political history has been published on the BBC, Slate, and The Wall Street Journal.

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U.S. Fulbright

A Lao Experience through Fulbright

February 8, 2016

Michael Bayyouk, 2014-2015, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Laos (far left, first row), with his sophomore English class students at Savannakhet University in Laos this past summer

I first heard of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program while I was a teacher in New York City. I had one of those “This is what I’ve always wanted to do!” moments and was soon applying through my graduate school, St. John’s University. My first application was declined, but I was told by my Fulbright Program Adviser to reapply next year. I’m very glad I took his advice!

My experience in Laos through the Fulbright ETA Program was beyond anything I could have prepared myself for. Even with the intensive, pre-service Fulbright training, there were plenty of lifestyle adjustments to be made. The learning curve included driving a motorbike while eluding aggressive stray dogs (good thing I had had my Rabies boosters), understanding and ordering a completely new menu of foods, and attempting to communicate through a very tonal language.

Fortunately, I was not alone in my assignment and was accompanied by two other Fulbright ETAs, Jessica and Mysee. They would be the closest and most reliable forms of support I had during my program. Collaborating with my Lao co-teachers, staff, and faculty was professionally and personally stimulating and beneficial. We became friends and I was invited to their family dinners, events, weddings, and holiday parties. I learned the most about Lao culture this way! There is a fun game that we would play called Kato or Rattan Ball. It’s like volleyball and hacky sack combined!

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U.S. Fulbright

Cancer: A Growing Public Health Problem in Haiti

February 4, 2016

Martine Prompt, 2015-2016, Fulbright-Clinton Fellow to Haiti (center), discusses the socioeconomic impact of cancer with patients Madame Louis (left) and Melissa (right)

In honor of World Cancer Day, 2015 J. William Fulbright–Hillary Rodham Clinton Public Policy Fellow to Haiti Martine Prompt shares her cancer awareness work with Project Medishare as part of her overall grant objective to improve the health literacy skills of vulnerable populations as a means towards improving their overall health, and promote health equity.

“Mwen pè maladi sa, mwen pè mouri pou pitit mwen yo, men mwen gen espwa poum geri paske mwen gen konfyans nan Letènèl, sa banm plis espwa.”

“I am afraid of this disease. I fear death because of my children, but I have hoped that I’ll heal because I have faith in the Lord – that gives me more hope.”

Madame Louis and four other women sat on the chemo chair in the cancer center at Bernard Mevs Hospital as their nurse prepares them to receive their infusion. Madame Louis is a middle aged woman with a malignant tumor that was undiagnosed and untreated for a long time. In the place where her right breast should be, there is a cauliflower-shaped tumor growing through her skin. She pointed at it for me to look but she looked away, sad, angry, and shamefaced. Such enormous tumors are rare in developed countries, yet typical in Haiti. The women at the cancer center are trapped by poverty, misinformation, and stigma, which often lead to them not seeking help for breast cancer. Many are diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer when the prognosis for survival is poor. Madame Louis confirms, she has never performed a self-breast exam, nor had a mammogram. She was diagnosed, when she showed a doctor that she had blood coming out of her nipples. “Yo dim se cancer ke mwen genyen, kounye a map tann gerizon. Yo dim map geri.” (They told me I have cancer, now I’m waiting for a cure because they told me I will be cured.)

Studies confirm that breast cancer is a leading cause of death and disability among women, especially young women in low-and middle-income countries. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), low-and middle-income countries like Haiti, accounted for 57% of the 14 million people diagnosed with cancer worldwide in 2012—but 65% of the deaths. Today, cancer kills more people in poor countries than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. The high fatality rates are likely due to a lack of awareness of the benefits of early detection and treatment and a scarcity of adequate facilities for detection, diagnosis, as well as treatment.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright

Highlights from the 2015 Austin Fulbright Enrichment Seminar

February 3, 2016

In a U.S. election year, anything can happen. Understanding the processes behind U.S. campaigns, media relations, and voting are not only highly relevant, they’re vital for the next generation of informed global leaders and scholars.

The 2015 Austin Fulbright Enrichment Seminar, held in Austin, Texas, brought exactly these ideas to the forefront of discussion on December 10-13, 2015. Over four exciting days the 132 foreign Fulbrighters convened to explore U.S. political values, electoral process and traditions, the current presidential campaign and the role media plays in politics, specifically related to elections.

The Fulbright program sought out the expertise of the University of Texas-Austin and The Texas Politics Project’s Director, Jim Henson to facilitate discussion and deliver insights from academia and civil service.

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