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A True Cultural Ambassador

February 26, 2016

Felismina Car’Reis, 2012-2014, Timor-Leste (left), answering the question “Where is Timor-Leste in this map?” with a student after her presentation on Timor-Leste’s 1999 conflict at Bushwick High school in Brooklyn (Photo Credit: Laura Tajima, One to World’s Global Classroom Coordinator)

Back in 2012, Fulbright introduced me to people from 33 countries on the first day I arrived at Drexel University to attend my pre-academic program. From day one of my grant, I also realized that not everyone knew where my country was on a map. Every time I introduced myself: “I’m Felismina, from Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor.” I got the same type of reaction: “Is that in South America?” “Is that a country?” “What? Istanbul?” “How do you spell it?” And so on.

They say first impressions count, so I decided to act as a cultural ambassador to share knowledge with everyone I met during my grant about my little island.

My Fulbright host institution was Montclair State University in New Jersey, where I pursued a master’s degree in applied linguistics. Coming from a multilingual community, I conducted research on the influence of home language (L1) on school language (L2) in elementary school children.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright

Highlights from the 2016 Denver Fulbright Enrichment Seminar

February 25, 2016

2015 Denver Fulbright Enrichment Seminar

Fulbright Foreign Students visiting Red Rocks Park during the Denver Fulbright Enrichment Seminar

The 2016 Denver Fulbright Enrichment Seminar held in Denver, Colorado brought students in direct conversation with U.S. electoral processes, traditions, and the practice of civic duty through volunteerism from February 18-21, 2016.

Over four exciting days the 129 foreign Fulbrighters gathered in the beautiful Rocky Mountains to discuss U.S. political values, participate in a wide range of volunteer activities, including working at food shelters and schools, and put “Democracy in Action” through a U.S. election simulation workshop.

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Foreign Fulbright

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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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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