He was around 13 (there’s no birth record to verify his exact age) and his family had fled the violence that plagued their homeland of Somalia in the early 1990s, finding their way to a refugee camp in Kenya. And that’s where he would remain for the next 15 years — unable to work, unable to leave and unable to find a place he could call home.

A quarter century later and halfway around the world, Jennifer Ballard-Kang stared out at the students before her in a Washington, D.C. classroom. She had earned her master’s in English as a Second Language, but she was finding it difficult to understand how to get her students to learn. Most of them were refugees and immigrants seeking a better life, and Ballard-Kang began to feel like she was letting them down.

Something wasn’t clicking. The tried-and-true teaching techniques she had learned were failing. Her students were intelligent, but they weren’t focused. Ballard-Kang suspected there was more to the story than just what was happening inside her class.

Two people, separated by geography, circumstance and perspective, who found themselves drawn to the University of Louisville to make their world — and the lives of the people around them — better.

But they took drastically different routes.

From Kenya to Kentucky

In 2008, Noor finally was selected by the United Nations for relocation as a refugee to Richmond, Virginia. He arrived in the United States with his brothers and immediately was taken to a factory to begin work. They quickly discovered that there was little to no refugee community in Richmond, let alone a population of Somalis. Life was hard. Everything was different, and there was no outlet for the things Noor missed and treasured about his home and culture.

He eventually moved to Seattle, hoping to mesh with the Somali community there. Still, something was missing. Noor had heard about the refugee relocation efforts in Louisville, so in 2012, he left Seattle and resettled in the Derby City. He found the community he was seeking, but it wasn’t a perfect mesh.

“The Somalis in Louisville are from different parts of the country, so we don’t have the same customs and culture, and we even speak a little differently,” said Noor. “I found that I could help interpret for the different groups.”

Soon, Noor became a de facto leader in the Somali community.

“I wanted to do more. I knew that getting an education would help me do that.”

In 2013, Noor enrolled in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences at the University of Louisville. He was working nights at UPS and raising a family at the same time. The goal to finish his degree seemed insurmountable, but if there was one thing Noor was good at — it was overcoming the odds.

UofL proved to be a good fit for Noor. “When I was studying, I could take evening classes before I had to go to work. That schedule worked for me and my family, and the library was open 24/7,” he said, flashing a smile from ear to ear. “That was the best part.”

While he was still a student, Noor was connected with Ruth Carrico, PhD, a UofL professor who runs the Global Health Initiative within the School of Medicine.

“We were having a hard time understanding the needs of the Somali population here in Louisville. What we were seeing was a disproportionate representation of single mothers trying to raise families that sometimes included five or six children — on their own — in a country where they don’t know the customs or speak the language. Ibrahim (Noor) has been an immense help in our efforts,” said Carrico.

Noor was so much help, in fact, that Carrico brought him on as a full-time employee slightly before his graduation in 2015. Today, he serves as an outreach ambassador for the program, working particularly with the burgeoning Somali population in Louisville.

“Working [with the Global Health Initiative] is a dream come true,” Noor said, “I feel like I’m contributing now so my children — and the children of all refugees — can have a better future in our new home.”

Coming Home to Build a Better Home

Ballard-Kang, on the other hand, wanted to return home — to the city where she had grown up. She had earned degrees from Northwestern University and American University, but Louisville was calling her name.

“Louisville is where my roots are. It’s where my support system is,” she said.

Although Ballard-Kang held a master’s degree in ESL, she wanted to better understand the needs of refugee populations, so she enrolled in the Kent School of Social Work, where she earned a master’s degree in 2015. She’s currently a doctoral student.

As part of her master’s studies, Ballard-Kang undertook a practicum at the Survivors of Torture Recovery Center, an outreach program run by the Kent School. There, she took on the cases of refugees and immigrants that had been victims of torture and/or who may have witnessed torture of family, friends or others in their country of origin prior to arriving in the United States.

“I remember my very first case. I was working with a woman who had endured tremendous physical and mental abuse in her home country. She was extremely introverted and barely spoke. I connected her with some English classes, but there was more to the story,” recounted Ballard-Kang.

The woman’s success became a personal goal of Ballard-Kang’s. “What I saw in her was what I was looking for when I decided to study social work. She had the potential and the intelligence. All she needed was an advocate.”

And what an advocate Ballard-Kang proved to be. Eventually, that refugee enrolled at UofL. Ballard-Kang became a professional and personal mentor, serving as a liaison between the university and its newest refugee student.

“I was able to help professors and administrators understand the perspective of this student. The university was helping, but there were opportunities to do better.”

One such opportunity was bringing awareness to the difficulties refugees — particularly those affected by torture — face when seeking out resources. In this case, the refugee student needed access to learning techniques and accommodations for her physical and mental disabilities. And in order to create a learning environment that was conducive to the student’s success, Ballard-Kang worked closely with several university assistance departments, administrators and instructors to develop methods and adjustments that were new for everyone.

“Once we were able to get all the stakeholders on board, the student thrived. Her professors commented on how intelligent she was. I responded, ‘I knew she was! We just weren’t teaching her in a manner in which she could learn.’”

Now, that student is on track to graduate from UofL in the summer of 2016.

“It’s my biggest success story to date. It’s the reason why I do what I do,” said Ballard-Kang.

A University with Compassion

Stories like Noor’s and Ballard-Kang’s abound at UofL. The city of Louisville is home to two resettlement affiliates, Kentucky Refugee Ministries and Catholic Charities, and has welcomed more than 6,500 refugees since 2011 — many of whom are children.

“These children are the UofL students of tomorrow,” said Carrico. “We can only be a strong university if we are serving the needs of our community. That means everyone in the community.”

That means non-refugee students as well.

“UofL offered me the unique opportunity where I’ve been able to have real and better case work, one-on-one face time and advantages for exploring the therapeutic side of my research,” said Ballard-Kang. “We live in a compassionate city. The more we can study diverse populations, the better university we can become.”

For more stories from the Summer 2016 issue, visit .��

Speakers at graduation ceremonies often lead with this theme, and it resonates with students in a variety of ways. Some hear the message and set their sights on conquering the world. Others think about how they might shape it and make a positive impact.

MeNore Lake is among the students at the University of Louisville with ambitions of contributing to a better world. Guided by strong mentors and supported by a rigorous curriculum, Lake and fellow students on the Distinction in Global Health (DIGH) track at UofL’s School of Medicine are moving steadily toward their goals.

Starting out on the journey

Students apply for the DIGH track in their first year of medical school. The curriculum goes above and beyond the general education for medical students and includes monthly lectures, a scholarly project and, often, study abroad. Participation in the program opens multiple avenues for cultural discovery and academic growth. Among other things, students learn how to use translators, identify regional pathogens and work with people from varying socioeconomic backgrounds.

Variety of global learning opportunities

The journey on the DIGH track is different for each student. Lake came to UofL from the University of Kentucky, where she earned an undergraduate degree in International Studies. She credits her upbringing for fostering her interest in international affairs. She was born in America, but her family is from Ethiopia. As a child, she had the opportunity to experience the country where her family once lived, and global news topics were part of daily conversations at the dinner table.��

When it came time to decide on a medical school to attend, Lake looked to UofL because of its DIGH program. For Lake, a strength of the DIGH track is that it “adds a dimension to the medical school experience that progresses students toward becoming thoughtful and culturally aware leaders in their chosen health care fields.”

Now a third-year student, Lake is well on course to becoming a future leader as an internal medicine physician. At the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, she worked with her professors and peers to form an interdisciplinary awareness initiative to help students sort out facts from the massive amount of misinformation that was spreading at the time. As a follow-up to this effort, she helped organize a fundraiser to donate needed supplies to the region.

More recently, Lake founded the Kentucky Refugee Outreach Program with the support of Bethany Hodge, MD, MPH, director of the DIGH program and Global ����ֱ�� Office (GEO), and fellow students Margaret Means and Kimberly Okafor. The program aims to help refugees transition to life in Louisville and includes mental and medical health orientation materials developed by Lake’s team in collaboration with Catholic Charities of Louisville.

In June 2016, Lake’s group traveled to New York to present their refugee education plan at the 6th Annual North American Refugee Health Conference. They are currently working to expand the program by involving students from the School of Nursing and School of Public Health and Information Sciences, along with trained professionals within the Louisville medical community.

Hodge noted that while students like Lake are exceptional, their ability to view the world through a global lens isn’t necessarily unusual. The lens for most students is the screen on a mobile device or smartphone, which connects them to the broader world via social media. Hodge also points out a lot of students travel extensively prior to beginning medical school.

Significant milestones reached

The DIGH track for medical students was started by Hodge and former UofL faculty member William Allen, Jr, MD, DTM&H, three years ago in response to student interest in global health. There are currently 18 students on the track. Six new students have been added in 2016, and these students were chosen from a pool of more than 30 applicants, or about one fourth of the medical school class.

The Global ����ֱ�� Office also offers programs for students who are not on the DIGH track. Hodge has 40 students traveling this summer to five different countries to enrich their learning experiences. Hodge also reported that 24 international visiting students have completed electives at the School of Medicine over the past year.

Path for students in pediatric medicine

The Department of Pediatrics also has a Global Health Certificate program, one that’s designed for pediatric residents. Like the School of Medicine DIGH track, this program offers training and development in an increasingly critical area
of medicine.

George Rodgers, MD, PhD, Humana Foundation Chair in International Pediatrics, points out that Louisville is now a global society, due in large part to its rising number of refugees and immigrants. Such population shifts are happening in cities across the United States, and he added that this is something that can no longer be ignored by universities and the medical community.

According to Rodgers, “No matter where physicians locate their practices, they will be caring for patients from all over the world. For medical professionals starting their careers, he says, “having a background in global education is extraordinarily important,” because physicians will need a unique understanding of the cultural and social circumstances of patients who turn to them for care.

For his part, over the course of his travels with the International Pediatrics program, Rodgers has worked with medical practitioners in at least a dozen developing countries, including those where poverty is widespread. The program, started in 1990 by Humana Chairman Emeritus, David A. Jones, has brought more than 200 foreign doctors and nurses to Louisville to train. The program also sends UofL resident physicians and Louisville medical professionals abroad to act in a teaching capacity.

Beyond the point of success

By developing familiarity with multicultural health issues, and addressing these challenges in Louisville and beyond, students like Lake are helping UofL’s global education programs grow and evolve. More important, they are helping change the world for the better.

It’s a lofty pursuit, but it’s achievable when you have committed and compassionate educators leading the way.              

For more stories from the Summer 2016 issue, visit .��

Because of the work happening on campus, a little boy born without fingers on his hand can throw a ball. New research into synthetic compounds could one day improve oral health all over the world. And a new approach to bone replacement can help reduce healing time and discomfort from bone loss due to trauma or disease. In other words, it’s a great time to be alive.

Building a robo-hand
Lucas Abraham was born with a condition known as symbrachydatyly, leaving him with a fused radius and ulna as well as underdeveloped fingers on his right hand. And while the bright, energetic Lucas never let his disability slow him down, he would still occasionally ask his family for a “robo-hand” that would allow him to play, throw a ball and interact with the world like every other child his age. After Lucas’ grandmother sent a letter to Gina Bertocci, PhD, Bioengineering professor and Biomechanics Endowed Chair, asking for help from her and her students in the Bioengineering Department, Lucas got his wish.

Bertocci saw in the letter an opportunity not only to help Lucas, but to inspire students in her Rehabilitation Engineering course with a real-world example of what they could accomplish. Having done graduate work in rehabilitation engineering, Bertocci was well-aware of how life-changing her students’ work could be. The project would also give her students valuable experience in 3-D printing, rapid prototyping and computer-aided engineering.

“I like to choose projects that let students see their impact,” said Bertocci. “I want them to be able to demonstrate what they’ve learned in my class, and from their entire bioengineering and rehabilitation engineering curriculum.”

For Lucas’ project, Bertocci divided her class of 15 into groups of five. Each group was to pursue a different design, with the ultimate goal of giving Lucas increased functionality.

To make sure the robo-hand would be a perfect fit, Bertocci’s students made a plaster mold of Lucas’ hand. These molds were then scanned into a computer as a “point cloud,” a collection of data points that can be used to create and manipulate a three-dimensional object in computer-aided drafting and engineering software.

“The students did most of their preliminary work on the computer,” said Bertocci. “By working in a virtual environment, they were able to create designs that were guaranteed to fit and interface with Lucas’ hand, wrist and forearm.”

Once the designs were finished and properly tested in a virtual environment, it was time to make them a reality. The most efficient way to do this was by printing the designs on a 3-D printer, a process that took between 20 and 30 hours per hand. Another 12 hours were spent assembling each of the three hands. This process wasn’t as simple as just snapping pegs into holes, though.

“The components of each hand were joined together by cables, wires and other structures that would replicate the function of the tendons in a human hand,” said Bertocci. “The students were also very careful in creating the interface between Lucas and his hand. We didn’t want it to ever cause him any discomfort or abrasion, even with prolonged use. Yet it had to be durable enough to withstand all the things that kids like to do.”

“On the day of the presentations, Lucas was accompanied by his parents and his grandmother,” said Bertocci. “It was amazing. He tried on the hands, the students made minor adjustments, and within 10 minutes he was picking up a ball.” Each of the three hands operates in basically the same fashion. When Lucas bends his wrist up and down, cables on his new hands cause the fingers to grasp and release.

Lucas had the final say in which hand would be his. While Lucas liked all three hands, one had to be retained by the school for accreditation documentation. Of the two that Lucas took home with him, one is reminiscent of Spider-Man, while the other hand is green, glows in the dark and has a light built into it.

The new hand was an immediate hit with Lucas’ classmates as well. Rather than becoming an object of curiosity, Lucas was embraced as a celebrity by his peers.

“His classmates swarmed him,” said Bertocci. “They all wanted to be like Lucas. Whenever you are able to help someone with a disability integrate seamlessly into society, that’s a success. That’s what we strive for.”

The Office of Tech Transfer helps new ideas become successful
While Lucas’ hand was developed using open-source resources, many accomplishments and discoveries at UofL present the opportunity for profit. To help the university, its faculty and its students turn their discoveries into marketable products, the Office of Tech Transfer helps coordinate the patenting and licensing of promising technology.

Two discoveries that are currently enjoying assistance from the Office of Tech Transfer have the potential to change health in two different ways.
And both show enormous possibility.

Discovering a method for faster bone replacement and shorter recovery times
Bone voids are areas in the body where bone has been removed, lost or destroyed either by surgery, disease or trauma. The current procedure for replacing lost bone is to fill in the void with a calcium-based synthetic material. Over time, this synthetic material is slowly reabsorbed into the body and replaced with living bone.

Unfortunately, physicians treating patients with bone loss must decide between healing and mobility or biology versus strength. Current synthetic bone graft substitutes are either strong, allowing the patient to resume normal activities quickly, or they are fast-absorbing, which permit the body to replace the material with bone at a more rapid rate.

Michael Voor, PhD, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and bioengineering and founder of the Orthopaedic Bioengineering Laboratory at the School of Medicine, has a better idea.

Voor’s creation, known as Trabexus EB, is strong enough to allow patients to get back on their feet more quickly, yet is absorbed more rapidly by the body and turned into new living replacement bone. Trabexus EB is based on a self-hardening cement made of calcium phosphate, but uses allograft made from donor bones to add more organic material to the mixture.

During the course of his research, Voor has found the ideal ratio of calcium phosphate to bone particles to optimize healing and replacement, while still providing plenty of strength to support movement, anchor screws and aid in bearing weight.

“It’s so similar to bone that the body recognizes it as the real thing,” said Voor. “Since the body sees it as bone, it replaces it with living bone fairly rapidly. And since remodeling happens quickly, surgeons no longer have to decide between mechanical strength and bone replacement.”

In fact, Trabexus EB is strong enough that, in many applications it has the potential to reduce the number of plates, screws and other hardware that surgeons typically use to support bones as they heal.

Trabexus EB is flexible in its applications, as well. It can be mixed and applied with a large syringe, allowing surgeons to fill bone cavities through a small opening. It can also be molded and sculpted by hand before it hardens to fill larger, more accessible areas of bone loss.

To help market Trabexus EB, Voor has created a company known as Vivorte. He is currently licensing Trabexus EB from the university for Vivorte’s use, with the assistance of the Office of Tech Transfer.

A new compound could make gum disease a thing of the past

Donald Demuth, PhD, associate dean for research and enterprise, School of Dentistry, and Frederick Luzzio, PhD, professor, College of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry, have developed a synthetic biochemical that can actually inhibit gum disease.

Gum disease begins when the bacteria P. gingivalis comes in contact with the bacteria S. gordonii. The two adhere together, and P. gingivalis begins to attack oral tissue and make its way below the gum line. This leads not only to inflammation in the mouth, but also to inflammation in other parts of the body.

Several years ago, Demuth discovered a peptide that, when applied to the mouth, could actually prevent P. gingivalis and S. gordonii from adhering together.�� This effectively defeated gum disease before it had a chance to start. The peptide was even effective at eliminating gum disease that had already developed.

“Unfortunately,” said Demuth, “peptides are expensive and hard to formulate. So I sought out Dr. Luzzio, who has extensive experience creating synthetic molecules used as anti-cancer drugs.” Together, Demuth and Luzzio developed a synthetic version of Demuth’s peptide that is just as effective at preventing P. gingivalis from adhering to S. gordonii. So together, these two researchers may change oral health forever.

The peptide and synthetic compound are both currently patented, and are being marketed to the private sector with the help of the University of Louisville Office of Tech Transfer.

For more stories from the Summer 2016 issue, visit .��

This year, the University of Louisville can lay claim to 14 Fulbright Scholars so far, with five additional alternates (at time of print). This ranks UofL as one of the nation’s “top producers” of Fulbright scholars, and while this is a big year for the university, it certainly isn’t out of the norm. A total of 103 UofL students have won the Fulbright since 2003, when the university established the Office of National and International Scholarship Opportunities.

Heading up the initiative is Patricia Condon, PhD, director of the Office of National and International Scholarship Opportunities, who is quick to point to UofL’s student population as the key to Fulbright success. “We have top-notch students who are willing to do what it takes to get to the top,” she says.

For these students, the Fulbright isn’t just a line for their Curriculum Vitae. It’s a life-changer. It’s the kind of experience that propels them into action and moves them to do great things. It gives them intellectual energy for the rest of their lives — an energy that ripples through the UofL community. Here are three UofL Fulbrighters. Although their travels, disciplines and personal backgrounds are different, they all have academic grit that makes even the most seasoned pedagogues raise an eyebrow.

Rae Hodge
Research, United Kingdom, 2016-17

Rae Hodge’s passion for journalism is taking her to Cardiff University, where she’ll earn her Master of Science in Computational Journalism.

What led you to UofL and, ultimately, why did you decide to pursue a career in journalism?
“I’ll be honest. I graduated high school by the skin of my teeth from Nelson County High School in rural Kentucky. I took six years after high school to work very, very hard in the real world. I did a string of odd jobs — everything from slinging beer at a biker bar to scrubbing toilets at a nursing home at four o’clock in the morning. I did a lot of manual labor work. I waited tables. The list goes on, but I did it all so I could fund some kind of career in the arts. I eventually started working with a non-profit based out of Bowling Green, Kentucky, that helped students across the country learn about public speaking, speech and debate, and competitive poetry. I got really good at it. We were coaching students so well that they started getting scholarships. And here I’ve never even been to college! So I decided it was time. I went to a community college, worked my tail off and took my 4.0 GPA over to UofL like it was a trophy.”

At what point did you decide to apply for the Fulbright?
“I graduated from UofL in 2013, and I decided to apply for the Fulbright in 2014 and didn’t get it… So I did some research, and I found that a lot of people don’t win their first time around. It’s very common for people to reapply in the first couple years aftergraduation, and Pat [Condon] was crucial in helping me examine my first application. We found the weak spots and polished that rock.“

What will your Fulbright research focus on?
“Basically, I’m going to Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. The program prepares early-career journalists to lead data-driven newsrooms, and it combines project management with big data analysis…If we can’t get into big data and understand it as journalists, we’re in big trouble. It’s an element that has to be introduced into newsrooms if we want to survive.��I’ll also be working for the Center for Community Journalism. They’ve been researching how community journalism works in a digital era. Tiny little newspapers are collapsing here. But there, they have a network of small newspapers that are like hyper-local news hubs. I’m excited about it. And I’m excited to bring what I learn back to Kentucky.”

In the short time since you’ve graduated, you’ve been hard at work as a political journalist in Louisville. How does that work inform your upcoming Fulbright research?
“I used to cover the State House, but it’s really difficult for newspapers to pay for a State House Bureau. There used to be a lot of reporters up there — so many you could hardly fit them in a room. Tiny little newspapers all over the state would have a reporter there. Now, there are maybe 12 or 13. Their decreasing numbers means no one is reporting on senators and representatives who are supposed to be representing the interests of people who live a hundred plus miles away from them. No one is reporting on them! How are you supposed to know what your senator is doing if there’s no one holding them accountable? How often are they meeting with lobbyists? What are they voting on? What kind of bills are they sponsoring? When you don’t have someone watching out for local interests, there’s no one there to record the ins and outs of a community. There are serious consequences for that.��Plus, I don’t want our history to be lost as we transition over to digital. I don’t want our towns, our countrysides, our people, our identities to be swallowed up. Believe it or not, there are so many similarities between Wales and Kentucky in terms of heritage and history. They have a thriving media ecosystem in an environment that has the same geographic and social problems Kentucky does. They struggle with addiction issues and poverty in certain areas. They have an agricultural economy with an increasing tourism industry, too. So I want to find out what they’re doing to keep their newsrooms alive. What are they doing that we aren’t?”

Ann Merkle
English Teaching Assistantship (ETA), Oman, 2012-13

For Ann Merkle, the Fulbright expanded her comfort zone and sparked an academic fire that’s still burning bright.

What was life like for you before winning a Fulbright?
“I came to UofL in 2009. I moved to Louisville from North Carolina, where I was in the Marine Corps. I was a logistics officer for four-and-a-half years, and I had just gotten back from a deployment to Afghanistan in 2008. I’d been there for quite some time, so when I got back I decided it was time to go back to school. I knew I wanted to study art history, so I applied to the University of Louisville, and, thankfully, I got in. I started my bachelor’s program and went hard and heavy into art history right away.”

How did you find out about the Fulbright?
“I did an overseas study program over the summer with Dr. Greg Hutcheson in Morocco. It was a first year study in Arabic. I worked with him a lot in a seminar on Arab Spain and medieval times. At the end of that program, he asked if I’d heard of the Fulbright, and I hadn’t. So when I got back, I went to see Dr. Condon and she nabbed me right away. We worked very closely together on the application process.”

Why do you think Dr. Condon “nabbed” you? What did she see in you?
“I think she saw my military background, which indicated some level of dedication and focus, I think. Plus she saw that I was studying art history. Those traits together made me a well-rounded, interesting candidate.”

What did the application process involve? What was it like for you?
“It’s extremely intensive. I think one of the reasons UofL is so successful is because of how organized Dr. Condon and her assistant are. I’m a pretty organized person, and if I had to go through that gotten overwhelmed. They’re just so thorough. Even down to proofreading the one-page statement of purpose. I think I had 20 drafts of that thing! And they just pushed me to make it better and better. The whole thing takes up a lot of time, and they make sure you’re committed to it. When you win a Fulbright, you go overseas to represent not just your university, but the United States. And the whole application process, in a way, makes sure you’re ready for that kind of responsibility.”

What was life like in Oman?
“I knew I’d be the only ETA in Oman that year. There were three research Fulbrighters who I was friends with, but they came to Oman much later than I did. They all worked in the capital of Muscat, whereas I was placed in a border town about six to seven hours away from them. Because I had military experience and experience traveling alone, the U.S. Embassy knew I’d be comfortable in an isolated city like Alburaimi. So I taught beginning English at the University College of Alburaimi. I was assigned to the absolute beginning level of fluency. Some students could have a basic conversation with me, while others couldn’t understand a word I said. My Arabic was OK then, but I was encouraged not to speak it with my students.

On the side, I took it upon myself to teach a continuing education language class, kind of like a night school for adults. It was one of the more gratifying experiences I had because I had so many different types of students. I only taught girls at the university. But the night classes were mixed, and I had some variety in age and phases of life.”

Was it tough being geographically, socially and linguistically isolated?
“I was prepared mentally for it. And I was surrounded by colleagues who spoke English, although I was the only native English speaker. So that helped a lot.”

Has the Fulbright played a role in where you are now?
“Absolutely. I’ve always been adventurous, and even this experience pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone. You learn a lot about yourself when you’re living in a tiny city in the middle of the desert, where you don’t know anyone and you have to learn to communicate on your own. Scholastically, it definitely added fire to my intellectual curiosity of material culture in the Middle East. I just finished my Master of Art History in Islamic Art, which I started right after I got back from my Fulbright. The Fulbright, the teaching experience — everything — confirmed it was the path for me. Knowing you’re on the right path is such a good thing.”

Seabrook Jones
English Teaching Assistantship (ETA), South Korea, 2003-04

Seabrook Jones has built a career around her Fulbright experience, and is now taking her own students on study-abroad trips regularly.

When did you first discover the Fulbright Scholarship?
“I still remember my first Fulbright meeting. There were about 10 students there, and Dr. Condon started talking about the Fulbright. I thought it sounded like something I’d like to do. But I had no idea how much that meeting would change my life. I even remember where I was sitting!”

You later went on to work as Dr. Condon’s assistant. What was that like?
“Yes. I worked with her from 2009 to 2012. I learned so much from her. She is just so good at spotting the things that make students unique, and developing that. She helps you understand the special things you need to do to take things to the next level. She’s incredible.”

Was there any part of the application process that you saw as particularly helpful?
“One thing we do that is pretty great is “speed dating.” Basically, we take all of our candidates — usually between 30 and 40 people — and match them up with a big roster of faculty. We’d pick faculty based on their disciplines and experience helping us with Fulbright. So let’s say we have someone going to Brazil. They’d meet with a Latin America specialist. Then they’d meet with a language teacher. Then they’d meet with someone who is maybe a political science professor, but who has lived in Brazil. And let’s not forget, the students are doing a lot of hard work to get to this point. The students have to have the goods. But they get to bring their work to top faculty and get quick, valuable feedback.”

What drove you to apply for an ETA in South Korea?
“Well, before I won the Fulbright, Dr. Condon helped me win a scholarship from the English Speaking Union to study at Cambridge in the summer of 2002. While I was there, I took a course on the Cold War, and I was learning a lot about international relations. One of the things I got really interested in was U.S. intervention in Korea. This was right when we were intervening in Afghanistan, and I started realizing that Korea was a really good example of how U.S. intervention can work well. So I remembered the meeting I had had a couple years earlier and realized that I was ready! I now had an academic interest that would be a great fit for the Fulbright.”

What was life like once you were there?
“While I was there I taught at Pho Hang Girl’s High School. It was just a magical year. I stayed with two home-families, I got to make tons of friends — both fellow Fulbrighters and people who lived there. It was just so great to be so deeply immersed. You can feel changed when you go abroad for a single week. But a whole year? It was just absolutely wonderful. It was a total game changer for me.”

How has the Fulbright been a game changer?
“I’m currently an assistant history professor at Schreiner University in Texas, but I’m also the coordinator for the Global Scholars Program. And what’s really fabulous about my job is that I teach freshman courses that are internationally themed. We also work to internationalize campus by hosting cultural events. Then, in the summer after their freshman year, I take students to South Korea for three weeks. And that’s just so special to me. So when I say that a meeting I had in my junior year was life changing, it really was. Because of the Fulbright, I got into great graduate programs. I’ve had excellent jobs. And now I’m in the process of establishing a Fulbright support program for this small university. It’s like everything I went through has culminated in this wonderful job.”

To read more about the Fulbright program, including a story on Patricia Condon, the director of national and international scholarship opportunities, visit to see the entire Summer 2016 issue.