A Year in the Fulbright Life: Abdelaal’s Story

For the next year, Fulbright MENA will be showcasing a handful of students as they study in the United States with their new series, A Year in the Fulbright Life. Each month, spotlighted students will share an update as they continue on their Fulbright journey.

August 2022

I was so lucky to be sent to The University of Arkansas for my Pre-Academic Program, and to get to see the J. William Fulbright Statue and the place where he started this amazing Fulbright project. Also, the campus is wonderful, I enjoyed it so much! Such a great honor!

This was taken from inside my Communication Skills class. We will miss Cindy so much. She is such a kind person. Anna taught our Academic Writing class and she was also an amazing person. The program was very informative!

This was an unforgettable day out! We spent the whole day in the city of Eureka Springs in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas. It’s known for its preserved Victorian buildings.

Here is a picture from the first hike of my life! We went to Devil’s Den State Park. The picture shows how much happiness I was feeling and seeing this beauty drove me to tears!

I adore walking on the Auburn University campus because I feel the greatness of 150 years of this wonderful place!

We had an amazing orientation for all grad students this day. We were given free food and many gifts from very kind people.

The picture shows me with the Auburn mascot, Aubie the tiger.

On the morning of a nice day in Auburn, I was walking to my college and felt that all the hard work I did to get into the Fulbright Program finally paid off! — The dream is no longer a dream! I’m so proud to be here.

First lunch with my amazing lab mates. They are such helpful and loving people. I enjoyed the day with them so much.

September 2022

From my spot here at AU, I have everything I need to change the world with great research! They call me a ‘surgeon’ in Plant Nematology class because of my ability to extract the nematodes out of the infected roots, which is an incredibly difficult process. This class is my favorite; I always get the highest score on the mid-term exams!

Every time I walk by the Samford Hall building at Auburn University, I smile and the hard days fade away!

Here in Auburn, the international students receive a lot of attention from the American families who are always nice and very welcoming. This image is from a welcome dinner at the Bradly Northcutt House. I enjoyed this night so much and got to know many people and make friends with them!

My first experience attending the first American Football game of the season at Auburn. It was an unforgettable night with the songs they sang, and the encouragement was spectacular. War Eagle!

Abdelaal is a 2022 Fulbrighter from Egypt. He studies Plant Pathology at Auburn University.

Follow updates from Abdelaal and other Fulbright students on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Check back here every month for more updates on the blog and Medium Series to see what Abdelaal does this year!