Anton Abdul Fatah, 2014-2016, Indonesia, in the front of Student Center of University of Miami which served as the Clinton Global Institute University in 2015
Growing up in Indonesia, I had big dreams of attending a U.S. university, but I never knew if they would come true. Receiving a Fulbright Foreign Student Program grant set me on the path to fulfill these lifelong dreams and has allowed me to pursue a Master’s of Public Administration at the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Kentucky. I have enjoyed every single moment of my classes. The quality of my professors and the diversity of students, in terms of their disciplines and international backgrounds, have all enriched my U.S. experiences.
Through Fulbright, I received an additional scholarship through which I have conducted several research projects and presented at two conferences. First, I presented my comparative study on the impact of defense expenditures on economic growth in Indonesia and Turkey at the 2015 Indonesia Focus Conference in Columbus, Ohio. Second, I presented my Indonesian agroforestry project at the 2015 Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment in Lexington, Kentucky.
In early 2015, I was selected as the only international student that year to join the Martin School team for the Policy Solutions Challenge USA. After receiving a first place award for the Southern Region, we attended the national competition in Washington, DC, where we came in second. I am so proud to have been involved with this wonderful team!
