Schuyler, Author at Fulbright Student Program Blog

Meet the 2015 Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors!

December 22, 2014

Back row, left to right: Bryan Furman, Senay Kahsay, Nathan Taylor, Amaka Cypriana Uzoh, Julie Baer, Megan Echols, Patrick Kramer, Joshua Martin, Derrell Acon, Allie D. Surina; Front row, left to right: Armaan Siddiqi, Ilana Robbins Gross, Aditya Voleti, Stephanie Herzog, Joanie Andruss, Tiffany Burd, Kristine Lin, Christina Aguila, Radhameris Gomez Gabriel (not pictured, Larena Nellies-Ortiz and Taylor Bernard)

On Wednesday, December 10, 21 newly selected Fulbright U.S. Student Program Alumni Ambassadors met in Washington, DC to receive training on how to promote and recruit for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Staff members from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and the Institute of International Education (IIE), along with previous Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors, shared tips on giving an effective presentation and emphasized the unique, important role that Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors play in inspiring diverse students, Fulbright Program Advisers, college administrators – and anyone interested in the program – to learn more about it and the power of educational and cultural exchange.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Alumni Ambassador Program was established in 2008 to identify, train and engage a select group of approximately 15-25 Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumni to serve as representatives, recruiters and spokespersons for the Fulbright Program. They are selected annually through recommendations from Fulbright Commissions, U.S. Embassy staff, area managers, the Fulbright Student Program Outreach Division and approved by the Fulbright Program’s sponsor, ECA. Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors come from an array of different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, states, fields of study, institutions and have participated in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program in all world areas.

Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors represent the program’s rich diversity and play a key role in increasing knowledge about Fulbright opportunities. They provide testimonials about their Fulbright experiences at conferences and campus presentations, and offer application tips in written articles, webinars and at special events throughout the United States.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program relies on the Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors to share with potential applicants what the Fulbright experience is really like and how to successfully address the challenges of living abroad while meeting the Fulbright Program’s ultimate goal – to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

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U.S. Fulbright

Don’t Forget Us

December 19, 2014

Spencer Reece, 2012-2013, Honduras, with the girls from Our Little Roses Orphanage

I taught, ate, laughed, and wept with seventy-two orphaned girls for one year on the grounds of Our Little Roses, the only all-girl orphanage in Honduras, one of the poorest Spanish-speaking countries in the Western hemisphere and home to some 250,000 orphans. The Fulbright year I lived there, 24,000 orphans tried to cross the Rio Grande in search of their parents or in search of work or in search of both; the year I left the number more than doubled to 50,000.

I lived with the girls in San Pedro Sula, dubbed by most journalists as the murder capital of the world. Roughly three people a day are killed in San Pedro, most of it gang-related. Behind ten-foot walls and armed guards, I came, with the aid of a Fulbright grant in Creative Writing, to teach the girls how to write poems. The idea had come to me on a previous visit to the orphanage when one girl had said to me on my final night: “Don’t forget us.” She might have said that to everyone that passed through there. But with me, it stuck.

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Foreign Fulbright

Fun with Microscopic Living Creatures on Fulbright

December 11, 2014

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

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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U.S. Fulbright

Notes on Norway

December 4, 2014

Paul Bostrom, 2012-2013, Norway, enjoying an early afternoon sunset in Norway’s arctic Tromsø

I thought of myself as an unconventional candidate for a Fulbright grant. After all, I was in my late twenties and only a part-time graduate student. But I thought of myself as curious person with a deep appreciation for travel – a hardworking student, with a genuine interest in better understanding my own Scandinavian heritage. As I’ve come to learn, there is no “conventional” Fulbright candidate.

My Fulbright application was designed around a “Capstone research project,” the final requirement of my graduate program. My study focused on the market effects of Norway’s energy rating scheme for buildings (read: energy efficiency report card for your home), and I was fortunate to have secured an affiliation with the University of Oslo’s Center for Development and the Environment. The Center has a strong reputation for its research – equally important; it has a long history of assembling international perspectives on pressing environmental issues.

I recall my first dinner at a colleague’s home, about three weeks into my stay. I arrived at a small apartment situated about 10 kilometers north of Oslo. It was a cool September evening, and dusk was just settling in over the city.

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U.S. Fulbright

The Art of Swiss Compromise: Reflections on a Fulbright Study/Research Grant

November 27, 2014

‘No ideas but in things’
– William Carlos Williams, American poet

Caroline Kirby, 2012-2013, Switzerland (far right), with fellow Fulbright U.S. Students (left to right) Kun-Wei, Tevor, and Caitlin in Geneva’s Old Town. (Photo credit: Adam Duker)

I took a metaphorical page from William Carlos Williams’ book when I started my life in Geneva, Switzerland. Instead of reading about the region’s culture, while a full-time student at Université de Genève, I experienced it in the banal and quotidian. And as a result, I learned to consider the needs and preferences of others before my own.

I discovered that certain concepts like punctuality and work-life balance are expressed much more elegantly on paper than they are experienced in daily life. The locked doors of lecture halls and offices, for example, shamed my American tendency to arrive ‘fashionably late’ for events and appointments. And the sanctity of Sunday, when most shops and libraries remain closed, disrupted my typical seven-day-week rhythm of productivity.

I also saw the lofty notion of compromise embodied in everyday local practices. Trams, cars and bicycles respect reserved lanes and stop lights. Official documents contain at least three languages (German, French, and Italian) to accommodate the language preferences of Swiss citizens. And French and German language television networks temporarily exchange newscasters to express appreciation for the language of others.

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Foreign Fulbright

My First Hackathon: Gaining Knowledge and Connections While Having Fun

November 20, 2014

Susana Lau, 2013-2015, Panama, at Carnegie Mellon University’s Silicon Valley Campus

In honor of International Education Week, today’s post illustrates Thursday’s theme of Entrepreneurship, and how international education prepares students for a strong, globalized 21st century workforce.

Read how Panamanian Fulbrighter and information technology student Susana Lau participated in her first hackathon this past October – a unique opportunity that enhanced her skills and widened her professional network.

From the moment I arrived in the United States from Panama to begin my graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), I knew my life would change. Being exposed to the professional, technological, and educational environment at CMU, as well as all of the opportunities available to help me pursue my goals, have transformed how I perceive my personal and professional growth.

I feel so fortunate to be a Fulbright Foreign Student pursuing CMU’s bi-coastal Master’s in Information Technology, where I spent my first year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This year, my second year, has been spent in Silicon Valley, where I’ve been exposed to the area’s characteristic spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation and technology. The extracurricular activities offered here are incredible: networking, technical conferences, and hackathons. I encourage other students to take advantage of these types opportunities.

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