I would not be the person that I am today had I never crossed the “border” and left my home of Jordan. As a Fulbrighter in 2009, I first came to meet people from all over the world at the UN Headquarters in New York City. The only other moments I can think of that came close to that incredible international gathering were the days I spent at graduate school at Harvard University, and time I have spent passing through some of the world’s largest airports, over the years. …

When I heard about the Fulbright Program for the first time more than 10 years ago, I never thought that one day I would be a Fulbrighter. After this amazing journey, I can say that this is one of the most exciting adventures I will ever have in my life. I am Lina- an Egyptian journalist, translator, and thanks to Fulbright, I now hold a Master of Arts in Multimedia Journalism from Arkansas Tech University.

I remember the first day I arrived in Russellville, Arkansas. I experienced my first culture shock — living in a town that has only 30,000…

There are no words to explain my six months Long-Term English (LTE) Program at the University of Florida English Language Institute (ELI), which took place through the support of the Fulbright Program. I feel so privileged to be a Florida Gator and part of the ELI family. Through this LTE Program, I was given the opportunity every day to engage socially and academically with Americans and people from around the world. It was an incredible experience despite the stressful COVID-19 lockdown that occurred upon my arrival in March 2020.

During my time, I developed so much appreciation for American school…

When I landed in Florida to begin my Fulbright Program, it was not my first time in the United States. I had been to the United States before with my family, so I knew there was much to see and learn. But this time was different; I was alone, and I was here with a purpose. The feeling is exhilarating- being in the United States, supported by such a great program, with the assigned task of representing my country, all while furthering my education. I’m glad that I got to study in Florida at Florida State University because the state…

A Long-Term English (LTE) program is one of the most helpful opportunities a Fulbrighter can be part of to improve their language, meet new people, become familiar with the education system in the United States, and to adapt to American culture before graduate classes start. As a new Fulbrighter, taking part in the LTE program was beneficial in helping me understand and appreciate many things. I was able to learn cultural differences, make new friends, participate in events in a new city, and be a member of the Student Council. …

When I realized that I had to create a professional portfolio for my master’s degree, it did not take me a long time to think about the idea. From day one, I knew that I wanted to do it about Syrian refugees. Before I could graduate with my degree in multimedia journalism from Arkansas Tech University, I had to submit a professional portfolio, which is a website that contains different multimedia stories, such as print, audio, video, photo, and infographic stories I’ve created. All of them are written, shot, recorded, edited, designed by me; all of them are about refugees.

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As a Fulbright student in the United States studying for my master’s in Pharmaceutical Sciences, in addition to being a full-time wife and mother, the Fulbright Program is an enriching, inspiring, and challenging experience — and that (latter aspect) is the best thing about it! This feeling that you have deep inside of more responsibilities than everybody else in the class- strangely- makes you the most productive of them all, or at least this is how it worked for me.

I have three children- Ahmed is in seventh grade, Mahmoud is in fourth grade, and Ali is the youngest, in…

While in a class called “Innovation and Global Health Systems,” I worked with a team of classmates across the world to create an innovation that would help reach communities neglected by traditional health systems. We decided to target our work to rural communities in remote areas where it may be difficult to access health facilities or technological infrastructure to allow telemedicine. With this target population in mind, we were able to form a diverse team of five members; Nisrine, Andres, Kayleigh, Grace, and I, spread across four time zones due to remote learning and COVID-19.

Developing our project with people…