How Fulbright encourages professional growth within the program and beyond
My name is Sawsan. I am an alum of the Fulbright Foreign Student Program from Libya, and I am currently residing in Binghamton, New York, where I am pursuing my Doctor of Education Degree (EdD), with a focus on refugee education. I successfully received the Fulbright Alumni Development Grant (ADG) in March 2024.
I completed my Fulbright Program in 2011, where I obtained a Master of Arts in Linguistics from Florida International University. I had not realized how big of an honor it is to be a Fulbrighter until I attended a Fulbright conference during my program. During this conference, we learned more about what it means to be a Fulbrighter; it is not only a means to a higher degree and career advancement, but it is a part of one’s identity. While it meant that being a Fulbrighter is a big responsibility, I completely understood what it entailed when I introduced myself as a Fulbrighter.
I heard about the Alumni Development Grant (ADG) opportunity through the AMIDEAST alumni newsletter. The application process was smooth as first I had a clear goal and second the Amideast contact was a responsive reliable resource who was there to help and answer inquiries and questions I had. I think that the best advice I can offer to future applicants for the grant is for them to carefully consider the activity of their choice and how it would impact their personal and career goals, looking at the larger picture.
For the ADG activity, I wanted to attend the annual Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) convention for the purpose of professional development.
The TESOL convention is a hub for hundreds of U.S. based international professionals and experts in the field of TESOL.
To receive the grant was very meaningful for me as it showed me the continuous support the Fulbright Program offers even after more than 10 years.
Attending the conference which was in Tampa in 2024 was a great learning opportunity, and was also an honor, as my research was accepted as a poster presentation at the conference.
My presented research, titled “Refugee Sense of Belonging in the Classroom: A Field Observation Study” was a mini-pilot study for my future dissertation topic, which is going to be on refugees’ sense of belonging in the classroom, and how that is important for their competence, especially in the Libyan context.
Having my research presented to a larger audience that also asked questions and offered expertise on the topic has further grounded my topic and offered me new perspectives to consider.
Additionally, and through a digital application, I was able to maximize my attendance by choosing presentations and talks that are related to my research and topics of interests. This has helped me expand my horizons as well as my network.
Attending the convention has been meaningful for me because it both related to my Linguistics degree, which I obtained as a Fulbrighter, and added to my current degree in Education. This experience highlighted the overlap between the world of English learning and teaching, and the world of education. My participation in the convention contributed to my professional career and research development, especially as I plan to pursue a career in academia after graduation.
Learn more about ADG here.
Sawsan is a 2010 Fulbright Student and a 2024 Fulbright ADG recipient from Libya. She studied Linguistics at Florida International University.
