The Fulbright Program

🗺️ 🚗 💨 Yewande Addie and Oyin Aderoba, #Fulbright U.S. Student Alumni Ambassadors, hit the road to visit Virginia-based HBCUs! At Virginia State University, Hampton University and Norfolk State University, Yewande and Oyin shared lessons and highlights from their own Fulbright experience. They also presented on application timeline and eligibility, during which Oyin acknowledged that applying for a Fulbright could seem daunting. However, she realized that by being "physical representations of what they have the ability to achieve," #HBCU students could envision themselves as Fulbrighters. 💬 "Representation really does matter. I am honored that I get to be a part of the work being done to ensure that Fulbright builds off of the mission of HBCUs and to ensure that Fulbrighters across the globe are representations of the United States which must include the pride, history, and excellence that is within Historically Black Colleges."

✍️ One thing Maure Aguirre Ortega, #Fulbright Foreign Student from Colombia, is taking from the Detroit Enrichment Seminar: "All the love, all the care, and the magical inspiration that strong women in communities share with the world. Imagine we could make all the worlds we have in our head real. People in communities can help make those real." Foreign Fulbrighters at the Detroit Enrichment Seminar visited Avalon Village, a space converted from vacant and blighted land into an urban resource by Mama Shu, who overcame the tragic loss of two sons and chose to honor their memory through building community. Avalon Village offers an after-school learning and activity center for neighborhood children, an economic development initiative for women entrepreneurs, a shipping container STEM Lab, activity courts, gardens, a micro-library, and more! For Aubiege Houndonougbo, Fulbrighter from Togo, hearing the story of Avalon Village emphasized her personal "commitment to make an impact that matters, no matter how small, and trusting that everything we do has a purpose." 📸 1. Group photo of Fulbrighters at Avalon Village's "Homework House" 2. Maure Aguirre Ortega with Avalon Village's CEO and Founder Mama Shu 3. Mama Shu's daughter giving Fulbrighters a tour of the garden 4. Avalon Village's basketball courts 5. Avalon Village's music room Fulbright Colombia

Congratulations to #Fulbright alums Martha Muñoz and Dorothy Roberts on being named 2024 MacArthur Fellows! 🎉🌟 Martha Muñoz (left), Environmental Biologist and 2007 Fulbright U.S. Student to Spain, was recognized for her research which unveils newfound insights on how organism behavior impacts long-term patterns of evolution. Dorothy Roberts (right), Legal Scholar, Public Policy Researcher and 2002 Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Trinidad and Tobago, was recognized for uncovering racial inequities in social service systems and working to ensure the safety of the parents and children caught in them. Their outstanding achievements demonstrate the impact Fulbrighters make in their fields, communities, and around the world. Muñoz and Roberts join the list of 82 Fulbright alums who have been named #MacFellows. Learn more 🔗 https://bit.ly/4eP2afD Photo credit: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fulbright Spain University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Yale Peabody Museum

Highlights from the #Fulbright Foreign Student Enrichment Seminar in Detroit: Building Community and Preserving History with Music and the Arts 🎶 👐🎨 From September 19-22, Fulbrighters explored how music and the arts actively strengthen communities, preserve history, and support commercial and cultural resurgence through a keynote address, site visits and panel discussions with community leaders, musicians, artists, and historians. Lamine Maman, Fulbrighter from Niger, noted, "I thought Fulbright was mainly about academics, but being at the enrichment seminar highlighted that Fulbright is more than that. You have to build communities with the arts and history. Being here opened new horizons for me." 📸 1. Fulbrighters visiting Blue Bird Inn, a birthplace of bebop jazz, which is currently being rehabilitated into a music venue, gathering space and Detroit’s only music archive by Detroit Sound Conservancy: A Nonprofit Community-Based Music Archive 2. Fulbrighters trimmed trees and raked leaves at their community service activity with Dream of Detroit 3. Fulbrighters pressed records at a site visit to Third Man Records @thirdmanrecords, a record pressing and manufacturing facility in Detroit 4. Fulbrighters packed emergency food boxes at Forgotten Harvest

As Tomás Quintero navigates medical school applications, he's keeping the main learning from his #Fulbright U.S. Student grant to Colombia in mind: a "commitment to serving diverse communities as a physician."👨⚕️ 👏 In addition to researching early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Tomás shares, "I took classes at the Universidad de Antioquia Medical School on providing culturally competent care to Colombia’s diverse ethnic communities. I vividly remember my visit to the Cabildo Chibcariwak, an Indigenous advocacy organization where Shamans practice traditional healing and serve as cultural liaisons for Indigenous patients navigating the Western healthcare system. This exposure shaped my resolve to offer culturally respectful and sensitive care, ensuring that I address the unique needs of my future patients with compassion and understanding." #HealthAndWellness Fulbright Colombia

Best wishes to Marseda Halilaj, #Fulbright ETA to Kosovo, as she embarks on her post-grant journey as an Immigration Services Officer for USCIS! 🌟 During her time in Kosovo, Marseda served as an assistant professor in two universities, conducted a project to increase environmental awareness in the city of Prizren, and was even featured on television three times! She shared, "My global experience through Fulbright cultivated my interest in working for USCIS after gaining an understanding of immigration in an international context. Listening to stories from Kosovo's diaspora on factors that motivate migration inspired me to become an Immigration Services Officer where I can utilize the intercultural communication skills I gained to contribute to an equitable immigration system and support individuals from diverse backgrounds." Upon returning to the U.S., Marseda applied to her new position during her 12-month period of Non-Competitive Eligibility (NCE), a benefit granted to program alums when applying to jobs within the federal government. Learn more about NCE: https://bit.ly/3ztZW6o

"Beyond the bench, the scientific community I met and worked with was truly outstanding. I enjoyed visiting campuses and labs all over Ireland and sharing my work and love for regenerative medicine with new colleagues. With each encounter I learned something new and gained new perspectives that will drive my projects forward for years to come." Meet James Ankrum, 2022 #Fulbright Scholar to Ireland, first-gen college graduate, and Iowa native who's committed to improving healthcare and equipping the next generation to enter the workforce as an associate professor at University of Iowa. 🔬 During his Fulbright, Ankrum joined the Tissue Engineering Research Group at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) to learn about current techniques and further develop a multifunctional scaffold for wound healing. He shares, "Even though I have worked in the regenerative medicine space for a while, I am still amazed at the ability of cells to build and remodel new tissues." 📸 1. Ankrum visiting the Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dubklin 2. Ankrum and his family attending the Kilkenny vs Galway Leinster Hurling Final at Croke Park 3. Ankrum posed with the Galway Girl Statue Fulbright Commission Ireland #HealthAndWellness

Did you know that a #Fulbright Visiting Scholar can make 2–5 day long visits to your campus? The Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund (OLF) brings international scholars, already in the United States, to different U.S. campuses for events such as guest lectures, student mentoring, film festivals, and even state fairs! Three of this year’s Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders hosted Fulbright Visiting Scholars for OLFs: 📽️ Dr. Tafari-Ama from Jamaica showcased her films at Xavier University of Louisiana to inform a dialogue on women’s history with an emphasis on Black women’s experiences. 🌍 Dr. Manal Shalaby from Egypt created connections for Morgan State University's new department for the study of the Middle East and North Africa. 🧠 Dr. Ana Maria Miranda Mora from Mexico also visited Morgan State to share her research on gender-based violence 💧 Dr. Shafaq Fatima from Pakistan exchanged aquaculture industry best practices at Virginia State University Many of the HBCUs shared that these short-term engagements led to unexpected long-term impact – learn how: https://bit.ly/3MLAiNK

For Virginia State University professor and alum Karl Jackson, a #Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to Ghana gave him the opportunity to collaborate on water purification research and renew his commitment to service. In addition to teaching and conducting research at University of Ghana, Jackson volunteered with a youth mentoring organization called Fafali, which means “There is Peace” in the Ewe language. Fafali runs after-school programs, using sports to engage children and provide guidance towards educational opportunities. Through interacting with the local students and faculty, he was reminded of the “passion” he had to “make a difference” in his own community. Learn more about Jackson’s Fulbright journey: https://bit.ly/3MHx3GK Congratulations to VSU for being named a 2024 Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leader and empowering scholars like Jackson to make a positive impact in communities at home and abroad! #HBCU

“Since my childhood, I knew about the problems of farmers,” shared Dr. Balasubramani Karuppusamy, #Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence from India to North Carolina Central University. The child of two subsistence farmers in Tamil Nadu, Karuppusamy was motivated to discover crops that would thrive with the available land and water resources. Originally working as a data engineer in the private sector in India, Karuppusamy’s doctoral studies allowed him to explore satellite imagery and GIS based approaches to develop sustainable agriculture plans. See how Karuppusamy and other Fulbright S-I-Rs at HBCUs shared their expertise and expanded their skills: https://bit.ly/4d8bdaa The Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (S-I-R) program plays a pivotal role in enriching #HBCUs by bringing international scholars to their campuses to meet the specific curricular needs of schools. Three of the 2024 Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders — North Carolina Central University, Huston-Tillotson University - Austin, Texas, and Howard University– exemplified this goal, benefiting classrooms and communities. 👏 📸 1 2. Dr. Karuppusamy at NCCU (credit: North Carolina Central University), and volunteering with the Community Health Coalition. 3. Dr. Manoj Kapil with his class at Huston-Tillotson University 4. Dr. Maame Addadzi-Koom at Howard University