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Fulbright Millennial Trains Project

Enrichment Foreign Fulbright Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project

The Power of Networking

May 24, 2015
Fulbright-MTP Participant Pichleap Sok from Cambodia with LA mentor, Rebecca McLauchlan, co-founder and CCO of rhubarb studies that builds tech companies in downtown LA.

Fulbright-MTP Participant Pichleap Sok from Cambodia with Los Angeles mentor, Rebecca McLauchlan, co-founder and CCO of Rhubarb Studios that builds tech companies in downtown Los Angeles

I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity than the Fulbright-Millennial Train Project, which combines my love of traveling and what I am really passionate about: women in technology. I am very fortunate and honored to be one of the six Fulbrighters on this year’s Millennial Trains Project, joining other Millennial world-changers on board. I was so excited and couldn’t wait for this day to come.

To kick off my Fulbright-MTP project, I needed to arrange interviews with local women in technology. Therefore, I really had to push myself out of my comfort zone to make it happen. I started contacting women in tech organizations in Los Angeles, Austin, San Antonio, New Orleans, Atlanta, and Washington DC. At first, I was so nervous and overwhelmed since I didn’t receive any replies.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project

One Year Later: Fulbright-MTP Participants Reflect

May 22, 2015
The Fulbright-MTP Participants after a panel at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City at the end of the 2014 MTP journey. Form left to right, Ammar Mohammed from Yemen; Alyas Widita from Indonesia; Katie Nikolaeva from Russia; Anser Shaukat from Pakistan; Silvia Tijo from Colombia; and Patrick Dowd, Fulbright U.S. Student Program alum and MTP founder.

The 2014 Fulbright-MTP Participants after a panel at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City at the end of the 2014 MTP journey. From left to right: Ammar Mohammed from Yemen; Alyas Widita from Indonesia; Katie Nikolaeva from Russia; Anser Shaukat from Pakistan; Silvia Tijo from Colombia; and Patrick Dowd, Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumus to India (2010-2011) and MTP founder.

The 2014 Fulbright-MTP Participants after a panel at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City at the end of the 2014 MTP journey. From left to right: Ammar Mohammed from Yemen; Alyas Widita from Indonesia; Katie Nikolaeva from Russia; Anser Shaukat from Pakistan; Silvia Tijo from Colombia; and Patrick Dowd, Fulbright U.S. Student Program alumus to India (2010-2011)  and MTP founder.

For the second year, the U.S. Department of State is funding Fulbright participants to join the Millennial Trains Project (MTP) journey as an enrichment component of the Fulbright Foreign Student Program. Last year, five Fulbright Foreign Students joined 20 other riders on the MTP journey to gain an in-depth understanding of life in the United States and to strengthen their leadership, social entrepreneurship and communication skills.

Here, the 2014 Fulbright-MTP participants update us with where they are now and their advice for this year’s six participants:

Silvia Tijo, a Fulbright Foreign Student from Colombia studying at Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) joined the Fulbright-MTP journey to experience sustainable building technologies existing along the train route from Portland to New York. Today, Silvia has finished her second year of Ph.D. studies in Building Construction, where her main interest is conducting research in sustainable building design and development.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project

“Learning About the World in a Journey Across America”

September 11, 2014

Fulbright-MTP participant Silvia Tijo, a Fulbright student from Colombia, reflects on the overall feel of the MTP cross-country U.S. journey. In addition to seeing the process of transforming waste into energy with the help of sunlight and algae for the first time in-person; a process she researches currently at Georgia Tech via a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant – Tijo says she learned more about the world and the necessary keys to becoming a global generational leader.

In the words of Silvia Tijo, a Fulbright student from Colombia:

The group of 20 Americans and five Fulbright Foreign Student MTP participants after a mentor session at Citizen University in Seattle. Submitted photo.

The group of 20 Americans and five Fulbright Foreign Student MTP participants after a mentor session at Citizen University in Seattle. Submitted photo.

While the Millennial Trains Project approached its last station in New York, all of us felt nostalgic since the trip was coming to an end. The group that started as strangers in Portland had become a family somewhere along the trip. During the final hours, Jenny Gottstein, who is from California, organized the production of a Lip sync video that involved all the passengers throughout the train even though many of us did not know the song lyrics; furthermore, there was no way to hear it because there was not any internet signal available as the train was in movement. What a great way to end the trip! Everybody worked on a shared goal.

At this point, I realized what the 20 participants from all regions of USA and five Fulbright Scholars from Yemen, Russia, Pakistan, Indonesia and Colombia had in common. Besides being part of the same generation, we all want to use our leadership to create social impact. The travel experience on train was key for us to create such a connection.

The journey itself was a tour of geography of the United States, and the greatness of its landscape. Yet, the best part of the trip was to learn from the diversity of its people through the speakers, mentors, participants, and all the people that we met in each place. The train also surpassed borders, and we learned about people, customs, and points of view of other countries around the world. I became familiar with countries where I’ve never been, and I also learned more about my own country: Colombia.

We had between 2 or 3 hours to work on our individual projects in every city where we stopped. The return to the train after each visit was exciting because the experiences of others were shared with all of us. I was fortunate to see each city through the eyes of 24 other people, and I could see every place from never imagined perspectives. When the journey reached its final destination, many projects on the train began to intertwine just like the travelers on the train began to intertwine as a community. We learned to appreciate that we are different, but where differences are valued and commonalities are found, stronger ties are built.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project

Go by Train: Taking Inspiration from Portland

August 7, 2014
MTP 2014 - Portland Group Shot

Members of the 2014 Fulbright-Millennial Train group at the top of Oregon Health & Science University’s Portland Aerial Tram with Portland’s First Lady, Nancy Hales (left)

Our Fulbright-MTP participants made it safely to Portland for today’s launch of the MTP 2014 journey. They depart at 4:00 p.m. PDT (7:00 p.m. EDT) today and head first to Seattle, WA. Here, Fulbright Student from Indonesia, Alyas Widita, talks about arriving in Portland.

It felt like the flight from Minneapolis to Portland was the longest flight I had ever taken. The flight only took about three and a half hours, but the excitement of participating in this year’s Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project (MTP) made me impatient to arrive in Portland and meet with my MTP colleagues. Additionally, the fact that I sat in an aisle seat prevented me from being able to see the amazing American landscape down below, and also contributed to the feeling that the flight was longer than it actually was.

By the time I stepped off the plane and arrived at the terminal, bathed in light, I rushed to find the Flying Elephants deli, where Lindsay Patross (one of the MTP social media staff members) and Chris Dowd (brother of MTP founder Patrick Dowd) were waiting for the Fulbright-MTP participants to arrive. I was relieved to spot an MTP banner and the Flying Elephants deli easily and had a short chat with Lindsay and Chris, who guided me on how to get to Union Station via streetcar/tram. The journey to Portland’s city center allows tram passengers to witness a glimpse of the city’s natural beauty, and many of its enormous bridges and buildings.

Following Chris’ suggestion, I took the Red Line tram and stopped at the Old Town/Chinatown Station, where I had to walk approximately five blocks to reach Union Station. As I walked from the tram, I began to understand why Portland is often referred to as an example of excellent urban planning. The city planners have put much effort into ensuring that the streets, an element of the city that is continuously reiterated as the biggest public space, foster human interaction.

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Enrichment Foreign Fulbright Fulbright-Millennial Trains Project

“Millennials and Future Cities”

August 7, 2014

Our Fulbright-MTP participants made it safely to Portland for today’s launch of the MTP 2014 journey. Here they reflect on their Fulbright experience thus far, what they believe are the most pressing issues facing global Millennials today and how their Fulbright-MTP project is a vehicle for enhancing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

In the words of Alyas Widita, a Fulbright Foreign Student from Indonesia:

Alyas Widita

Alyas Widita is a current Fulbright Foreign Student from Indonesia.

I feel very fortunate to be awarded a Fulbright scholarship as it has enabled me to immerse myself with the voices, perspectives, and ideas of fellow Fulbrighters and Millennials around the world. Through these meetings and conversations, I believe the pressing challenges of my generation, the Millennial, are centered around one term: connection. Millennial is the first generation that has the resources and technology to recognize the world is, essentially, inextricably linked. Not only does the linkage manifests in global challenges such as climate change, sustainability, economic development, etc., but also relates to our daily life — what we wear and how we move. To that end, I believe the Millennial generation can shape a better world by further intensifying connection and solidifying understanding between themselves, as well as with generations before and after them. I would like to make sure Millennials and generations after me will continue to enhance this connection by being an active advocate of knowledge and cultural exchange.

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