Why Fulbright Scholarship?
When I graduated from college, I really wasn’t quite ready to let go of being a student. I wanted to study Cubism in Spain in Madrid (while simultaneously practicing my Spanish and eating as many tapas as possible.) I wanted to continue my outreach to migrant workers from South America. I wanted to go to the Amazon and observe the immediate effects of deforestation. Too bad I didn’t know then what I know now about Fulbright Scholarships.
How the Fulbright Program Works:
There are a plethora of Fulbright opportunities out there. Fulbrighters are defined as no less than students, scholars, teachers, lecturers, researchers, mentors, artists, philanthropists, cultural ambassadors and advocates. (Whew!) So basically, Fulbrighters range from the second-grade teacher who decides she wants to teach English in Vietnam, to the art student who wants to reach out to terminally-ill cancer patients in Germany, to the professor who wants to lecture about Western American Modern Art in Venezuela. The point of the program is to encourage and foster exchange between the U.S. and the rest of the world. And to that point, the Fulbright allows you to work and/or study in over 155 countries world-wide.
The exact travel arrangements, lodging, and stipend depend on what kind of Fulbright Grant you apply for and receive, but in short, they’re going to get you to and from base camp, help you out with insurance, enroll you at the local university (if that applies), and give you more than enough dough to cover living expenses, food and travel. There are also limitations on how much your work, so you’ll have time to explore whatever awesome country (and surrounding awesome countries) you end up in.
Benefits of the Fulbright Program:
For one, you get to live/study/work/ in a foreign country. For two, you get to practice and fine tune your foreign language skills. For three, you get great leadership experience. For four, you get to foster dialogue and cultural exchange with a community somewhere around the world. For five, you get the benefits of becoming part of the prestigious Fulbright community and the great networking/job opportunities that come with it. The list goes on . . . need I say more?
For more information about Fulbright Scholarships:
To learn more and apply, visit http://fulbright.state.gov/.
