U.S. Fulbright Archives - Page 23 of 72 - Fulbright Student Program Blog

The Nina Brekelmans Story: Promoting Women’s and Girl’s Empowerment through Running and Cultural Exchange

April 8, 2016

Fulbright volunteers, camp coaches, and friends of Nina Brekelmans’: (Top row, from left to right) Coach Mohammad Sweity (head coach of the camp), Ibrahim Abu Asbeh (coach), Mary Grace Pellegrini (Nina’s best friend), Hanoia Ali (friend and running partner in Jordan when Nina lived in Amman), Fulbright U.S. Student Emily Gallagher; (Bottom row) Fulbright U.S. Students Rory Sykes, Maddie Ulanow, Brittany Barrineau, and Summer Forester.

On a bright spring day in April 2014, Nina Brekelmans toed the line to compete in the half marathon at the Dead Sea Ultra race in Amman, Jordan. Although Nina had never competed in this distance before, she won. During a post-race interview, Nina described the race as particularly important to her because it was her last race in Jordan before returning to the United States Tragically, this would be the last race Nina would ever run in Jordan; in June 2015, Nina passed away in a house fire in Washington, DC.

Nina was selected for a Fulbright U.S. Student grant in May 2015 and would have begun her research project in Jordan in August of that year. Nina’s passion for running intersected with and informed her scholarship. As a Fulbright U.S. Student, she planned to research how women’s involvement in elite-level distance running shifts cultural norms about women’s roles in society. Nina hoped to use this research in her lifelong endeavor to promote female participation in athletics. To be sure, Nina was well-suited for this project. During her time in Jordan as a Boren Fellow in 2013-2014, she connected with athletes, coaches, and local running organizations, all of whom embraced Nina as one of their own.

Following Nina’s untimely death, the U.S. Department of State and the Binational Fulbright Commission in Jordan (sponsors and administrators of the Fulbright Program in Jordan) decided to create a community engagement award to honor Nina’s legacy and to help her research continue in Jordan. The prize was $1,000 to fund a project that promoted Nina’s vision of female empowerment through running. This year’s Fulbright U.S. Student group in Jordan worked together to create a proposal.

Nina’s friends and family in the United States gave us the idea to do a camp. They had talked about creating one, but they didn’t have any on-the-ground connections in Jordan to make it a reality. Together, we started laying out the groundwork based on their ideas and the possibilities in Amman.

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U.S. Fulbright

Climate Change in Kiribati, a Small Pacific Island Nation

April 6, 2016

Michael Roman, 2010-2011, New Zealand, at the New Zealand Fulbright Commission in Wellington

In 2010, I had the honor of receiving a ten-month research grant to study the lives of I-Kiribati living in New Zealand. The I-Kiribati are citizens from the Republic of Kiribati, a small Micronesian country located in the Central Pacific Ocean. Their islands, consisting mostly of low-lying coral atolls, rise just inches above sea level, and are under severe threat from higher tides and stronger storms. The purpose of my study was to gain an understanding of migrant experiences in New Zealand, in preparation for possible large-scale relocation due to climate change.

I first went to Kiribati as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 2000 and was “adopted” by an amazing host family. In 2005, some members of this family moved to New Zealand. There, they lived amongst a large community of I-Kiribati migrants. I lived with my family throughout my Fulbright year and gained an intimate view of their lives in New Zealand. I experienced their joys, sorrows, and challenges on a very personal level. They were not the only ones facing challenges though. Back in Kiribati, our friends and family were struggling with surmounting impacts from climate change.

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Enrichment U.S. Fulbright

Home Is Where the Heart Is

April 4, 2016

Twelve Fulbright Students from around the world gathered in Williamson, WV, to participate in a service-learning program led by Amizade. As our group was warmly welcomed by the local community, I felt an authentic sense of belonging, where conversations flowed freely and friendships ran deep. What impressed me the most was the people of Williamson. Their sense of community, hospitality, pride and unwavering perseverance to succeed, was not only inspiring but contagious. Due to a series of floods, the coal mine collapse, and lack of employment, Mingo County’s population dwindled from 50,000 to 3,000 residents. Despite their misfortune, residents are uniting as a family to breathe not only life but hope back into their community.

This collective passion is what drives a community to become the best version of itself, and encourages others to join in the revolution. In a way, this devastating crisis has presented a blank canvas for Williamson to rebuild the future they desire. Sustainable Williamson has spearheaded this revolution by taking a holistic approach to challenges faced by this Appalachian community. By reimagining what sustainable agriculture, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and tourism paradigms could be, they are transforming a place back into a home.

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U.S. Fulbright

Today is the Launch of the 2017-2018 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Application Cycle! Attend Today’s Webinar to Learn More.

March 31, 2016

FUSP 2017 Are you a U.S. citizen interested in learning more about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program but are not exactly sure what it is all about, how it works, or who is eligible?

Are you interested in exploring fully funded international educational opportunities that could help open doors for you professionally, academically, and personally, while connecting you to a
diverse, lifelong and prestigious global network?

Want to learn more about Fulbright, the U.S. Government’s flagship international educational exchange program, but don’t know where to start?

Attend today’s webinar at 2:00 p.m. EST!

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U.S. Fulbright

Fulbright and Family: Bringing Your Loved Ones Abroad

March 28, 2016

Anna Rushton, 2013-2014, Rwanda, at a pottery cooperative in Kigali she visited regularly for her research project. Often the employees’ children would come to the cooperative while their parents worked. In return for letting Anna interview them, she taught their school-aged children and some adults conversational English once a week.

When I found out that I was selected for a Fulbright grant to conduct my thesis research in Rwanda in 2013, I was beyond elated. I had studied the Fulbright U.S. Student Program website, solicited feedback from professors, and put forth my best effort into the application. Realizing that I had achieved my goal was an incredible feeling, but I was also terrified. In a few short months, I would be moving to Rwanda with my then nine-year-old daughter. I was not a typical Fulbrighter: I was a single mother who worked full-time through graduate school in order to make ends meet. I would have to quit my job and uproot my child to make this momentous move. I had been to Rwanda before by myself, so I had an idea of what to expect, but bringing a child would be a whole new experience.

I began planning immediately. Online resources were scarce, so I relied on contacts I had made on my last visit and a website designed for the Kigali expat community. I chose an international school for my daughter to attend, researched health insurance options, and hoped to secure a place to live shortly after we arrived. I made sure to talk with my daughter at length about what she could expect for our year in Africa. Bringing your family abroad, whether a child or a spouse, requires a great deal of planning and forethought.

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Enrichment U.S. Fulbright

A Postcard from West Virginia

March 25, 2016

Jimmy Mahady is a Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumni who researched biofuel development in Uruguay from 2012-2013.

Jimmy Mahady is a Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumnus who researched the development of renewable energy in Uruguay in 2013.

Foreword: The musings herein were gleaned from a few days of service-learning through a special Fulbright Enrichment Activity with Amizade in the town of Williamson, WV and its surrounding area. My intuition and meager sample size have yielded this blurry, self-reflective view of what was, is and may be. Thanks for reading.

Six participants from abroad, six from the U.S. – I have come together under the banner of mutual understanding with my fellow fellows to Williamson, WV and we are growing together like a bunch of grapes. I’ve never been to a place like this. Infinite hills – friendly, drawn-out speech and demeanor – a town with its head held high – in spite of unforgiving squalls of global market forces. From far away, current residents’ forefathers arrived here, willing or not, nearly all of whom fought hard to survive. The rich seams of coal presented an obsidian opportunity, but avaricious plutocrats spared no expense to make the people’s sometimes deadly struggle for fair treatment seem Sisyphean. Eventually they prevailed, and fairer wages and better working conditions begot longer hours below with the black particulate that crackled in their chests.

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