The Paducah, Kentucky, native earned her BA in Communications from UofL, MA in International Communications from American University, JD from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and she is currently pursuing her MBA from the University of Michigan.

She credits UofL, and namely her former professors/mentors Dr. LunDeana Thomas and Dr. Yvonne Jones, with helping her think beyond what she could see and pursue her dreams.

Realizing that dreaming big was the goal, Harden served as a 2003-04 J. William Fulbright Scholar, where she incorporated her love for the arts as a means of teaching English in South Korea. Additionally, after receiving the David L. Boren Fellowship, Harden used this prodigious accomplishment to fund her Korean language immersion program at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.

Along with South Korea, her love of arts and academic/professional endeavors led Harden to various projects in Poland, Amsterdam, Kenya, Greece, England, France, South Africa, Brazil, Morocco, Spain, China, Japan, Italy and Tanzania.

Ultimately Harden attended law school, and completed clerkships for both federal trial and appellate judges. Subsequently, Harden served as a senior associate at the law firm of WilmerHale, where she focused on white-collar investigations. Later, she became a federal criminal prosecutor and managed a robust docket that included narcotics, public corruption, white-collar and firearms offenses. However, Harden specialized in prosecuting child exploitation crimes.Ěý

Harden has greatly enjoyed her journey to and through lawyerhood, and she credited much of that guidance to her mentors – several of whom she found at UofL.

“When I grew up, I did not really know a lot of lawyers who looked like me,” Harden said. “Going to the University of Louisville was the first time, as a young adult, I had an academic environment where the professors and professional mentors looked like me (for example, Dr. Mordean Taylor-Archer, Dr. Yvonne Jones, and Dr. LunDeana Thomas), believed in me, and encouraged me.”

Given the role of mentorship in Harden’s life, and in her efforts to “widen the shutters” for others, Harden mentors and motivates other future lawyers of color.Ěý Specifically, she was a founding member of the James M. Nabrit Clerkship Scholarship, which aimed to promote diversity for law school students applying for clerkships. Harden wants other diverse law school students to have the same feeling of community, support and encouragement that she received at UofL.

Regarding Harden’s current selection as a 2021-22 White House Fellow, she said she feels blessed beyond measure, calling the opportunity, “catching lightning in a bottle.”

“[The Fellowship] is one of those opportunities where you apply, but you never really know if you will be selected because it is such an arduous process. Everyone who applies to the White House Fellowship is incredibly talented, capable and accomplished in their own way,” Harden said. “It’s one of those things where you just apply and hope and pray for the best.”Ěý

President Lyndon B. Johnson created the prestigious White House Fellowship through Executive Order, which authorizes a class of 11 to 19 Fellows each year. This year, there are 19 Fellows, which is one of the largest classes.

“In fact, we are acknowledged as being the most diverse class in the history of the program,” Harden said. “When you consider those factors, it is very humbling to have been selected.”

The 2018 political science graduate plans to go to Hungary in January to begin a prestigious Fulbright research award though the U.S. Department of State to explore international relations.Ěý

It’s just the latest chance to pursue her interests abroad, and she credits most of them to the continuing aid, interest and support from UofL mentors.

“I think the big thing I learned at UofL was to try things — to put your name out there and try options,” Golding said. The Florida native arrived in Louisville with her political science major in mind and a legal career as a goal, following in the footsteps of her father, 1986 law alum John Golding. However, her path to complete the undergraduate major led her in a different direction, thanks to the encouragement of faculty and staff and to other options explored during her time on campus.

“I was open to other opportunities,” she said. “My mentors at UofL were able to see in me something I couldn’t see in myself.”

Her UofL selection was cinched when she visited Belknap Campus for the Accolade admissions event for high school academic achievers “and fell in love.” Once enrolled, she ended up spending loads of time in the building where her major classes were.

“I was political science to the core,” Golding said. “I lived in Ford Hall and the Ford Hall basement (study area). I recommend UofL’s political science department to anyone I meet. They helped foster that passion I already had for political science.”

She zeroed in on one of those professors, Julie Bunck, her first year at UofL. Golding remembers sitting in Bunck’s class thinking, “somehow, someway, she’s going to be my mentor.” And she was – and remains so.

“Dr. Bunck, in particular, likes for people to check in and tell how we’re doing,” Golding said. “She’s a friend and also a mentor, too.”

Not all the nurturing folks taught in Ford Hall, however, Golding was in the Honors Program, where Luke Buckman and Kirsten Armstrong – “people who always encouraged my crazy ideas” – enriched her college experience. Golding served on the Honors Student Council and as an Honors peer adviser for incoming students for two summers, as well as participating in other related programs.

Plunging into the Honors charitable fundraiser – a huge week-long, biennial book and media sale – she helped run it the year it benefited Camp Quality Kentuckiana for children diagnosed with cancer. About the same time she also worked heavily on raiseRED, the largest UofL student-run philanthropy effort, to raise funds to fight pediatric cancer.

“It is a lot of work,” she said. “It’s always worth it in the end when you see the checks (for the charities’ donations).”

Speaking of hard work, Golding commended everyone in another UofL office, the Office of National and International Scholarship Opportunities, for shepherding her efforts to gain the Fulbright award she ultimately won.Ěý

“I think that’s something that sets UofL apart, that office,” Golding said.

“Fulbright is a very intensive process, but it’s one of the most prestigious scholarships that someone can win,” she said.

The first thing she and fellow applicants realized is to prepare to discard the first application draft, no matter how hard they labored on it, and to keep revising.

“The big thing is to go to people for advice, having people help you,” Golding said. “Everybody at UofL is trying to help you make it better. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

That light first shone when she qualified as a Fulbright alternate, although she didn’t get the call to go that year. As an English Speaking Union scholar, Golding also spent time at Oxford University focusing on European Union politics.

After graduating from UofL, she opted to study abroad again, earning a master’s degree in European studies at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. “It ended up being a phenomenal experience,” Golding said.

Her second try for a Fulbright paid off, and that’s why she plans to be in Hungary next year researching the role of central Europe in trans-Atlantic energy cooperation.

Golding hopes her Fulbright term next year could also enable her to remain in Europe to help with a Budapest summer school opportunity that she enjoyed last year, when she was the only American participating at Antall Jozsef Knowledge Center, where she studied regional security politics.

Since summer 2019 she has been stateside in Florida, applying that political acumen to work on a congressional campaign as well as serving as volunteer coordinator with the Blessings in a Backpack nonprofit organization.

So where might all this lead?

Although she admits her dream job would be U.S. secretary of state, Golding does foresee herself “working in D.C. in some capacity with the State Department.” All the building blocks so far are adding up to work in foreign policy or diplomacy.

“I’m excited to see how everything falls together,” she said.

While in Kazakhstan, Sanders will complete an English teaching assistantship.

“I decided to pursue an English teaching position because I’m terrible at language learning,” said Sanders, a South Carolina native. “Languages are extremely challenging for me, and it’s precisely that challenge that draws me to mastering languages and helping others to do the same.”

Before hearing that she had been named a Fulbright Scholar, Sanders embarked on several adventures, such as hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail and working on a sheep farm in New Zealand. Receiving the award allows her to pursue both education and “esoteric” endeavors.

“When I found out that I got the Fulbright … I realized that not only can I do both things, but that they are complementary,” said Sanders. “My strange adventure has taught me flexibility, adaptability, and patience, which will make me a better English teacher in Kazakhstan.”

Sanders graduated from UofL in May of 2019 as a double major in Anthropology and Environmental Studies with a minor in Russian Studies. Prior to receiving the Fulbright award, she was named a Vogt and honors scholar and received both the Anthropology and Liberal Arts departments’ Awards of Merit.

Sanders will leave for Kazakhstan in January. After completing her time there, she may pursue a master’s degree in łÉČËÖ±˛Ą or English.

“I’m hoping the Fulbright will both help me grow as a Russian learner and allow me to collaborate with other language learners.”

Twelve additional UofL alumni have earned 2019 student Fulbright scholarships, a prestigious international award coveted by many high-achieving scholars.Ěý.Ěý

The university has had outstanding results as a producer of Fulbrights. Since 2003, there have been 133 Fulbrights, more than all other Kentucky public institutions combined.

Students and faculty are learning, teaching and performing in such far-flung locales as Ecuador, Costa Rica, Vienna, Austria, Denmark, Korea and Thailand.

It’s no wonder as “advancing the art of music globally through the work of faculty composers, performers and researchers” isĚý in the school’s mission statement.ĚýĚý

“The faculty and students of the School of Music have been increasingly active from an international perspective for the past dozen years or more, with the current summer representing a kind of apex of these opportunities in terms of the nature of international programs in which we are involved and the numbers of music students and faculty members participating in some fashion,” said Christopher Doane, dean of the School of Music. “Our students and music faculty members expect to have these opportunities as a part of their UofL experience and we have been fortunate to have the international connections and network of friends, donors and music alumni to make these opportunities possible.”ĚýĚý

Kimcherie Lloyd, director of Orchestral Studies, traveled this May with 32 students – both instrumentalists and singers – to perform in Costa Rica’s National Theater for a concert celebrating the .

The trip, which included sightseeing, masterclasses and other performances, was commended in official letters signed by the president of Costa Rica.

It was the second such trip to Costa Rica for the School of Music. Students performed there five years ago as well. Both trips were a result of connections formed when Josue Ramirez came to UofL to study piano performance in 2010 as a Fulbright Scholar.

As amazing as that first experience was, this one was even better, Lloyd said. The

hospitality, comraderie and quality of music shared was incredible, she said.

“I cannot say enough about our Costa Rican friends who hosted us,” Lloyd said. “It was extraordinary … I think the students would say it was a life-changing experience. There were lots of tears when it was time to leave.”

Jessica Wise, who graduated this spring with her Masters in Music in Flute Performance, agreed.

“Playing the flute duet in the Bach Magnificat with my duet partner Katie McDonald in the National Theater was my favorite part of the trip. To play in such a beautiful hall filled with musicians and a full audience is an experience I will never forget,” she said. “My host family was also absolutely incredible and my favorite part of the trip too. They made me feel a part of their family and so welcome. It was very difficult to leave them. They invited me back to their homes in the near future, so I hope to travel back to Costa Rica and see them again soon.”Ěý

The trip marked the beginning of a formal exchange program between UofL’s School of Music and Costa Rica’sĚýNational University School of Music, which will ensure many more students will have similar experiences in years to come.

Other international trips for the School of Music this summer include:

Jazz in Ecuador

Twenty students and faculty from UofL’s jazz program joined Mike Tracy, Jazz Program director, for an exchange program at the Universidad de las Américas Escuela de Música in Ecuador. .

Music Therapy in Vienna

The music therapy study abroad program is traveling to Vienna, Austria and Denmark in June. The group will visit the University of Music and Performing Arts and participate in a music therapy career day with the famous Vienna Boy’s Choir. In Denmark, they will attend the European Congress of Music Therapy. Students will present a workshop with Petra Kern, UofL music therapy professor.

Cardinal Singers in Korea and Thailand

Kent Hatteberg will lead the award-winning Cardinal Singers on tour to perform in Korea and Thailand June 20-July 8.

Comstock Piano from Germany

Even the instruments are in on the globe-trotting action. Piano faculty members Anna Petrova, Krista Wallace-Boaz and Naomi Oliphant traveled to Hamburg, Germany, to pick out a new Steinway piano for Comstock Hall. The purchase was made possible by a bequest from donors Calvin and Helen Lang. to see Oliphant playing the piano before it makes its journey back to Louisville.Ěý

The scholars have reached semifinalist status, which means they have been recommended to their host countries by a Fulbright screening committee and their chances of getting the award are high. That’s according to Patricia Condon, who heads the national and international scholarship program at UofL.

“To be named a semifinalist is a tremendous and resume-changing accomplishment,” Condon said. “Most of the candidates will know by the end of May whether they have been selected.”

In 2016, UofL had 15 Fulbright scholars, a that earned the institution a place on the Chronicle of Higher łÉČËÖ±˛Ąâ€™s for the esteemed prize. Since 2003 UofL has produced 104 Fulbright scholars, more than all other Kentucky public colleges combined.

UofL has been on the top producer list four times in the last 10 years and has the highest success rate among research institutions.

The semifinalists for 2017-2018 are shown below, organized by type of award.

English teaching assistant scholarship:

• Perrin Bailey, Frankfort, senior liberal studies major; Cyprus
• Jeremy Ball, Manchester, senior political science and economics major; Malaysia
• Dzemila Bilanovic, Louisville, anthropology alumna; Germany
• Alex Stewart, Louisville, senior biology major; Poland
• Kara Stivers, Louisville, political science alumna; Georgia
• Hannah Touchton, Ashland, social work alumna; Malaysia
• James Logan Zechella, Alexandria, senior biology and Spanish major; Columbia

Graduate student and research scholarship:

• Kristen Connors, Louisville, anthropology and Spanish alumna and nursing graduate student; United Kingdom-England
• Philip Dennison, Louisville, political science and French alumnus; Kazakhstan
• Jordan Maiden, Dickson, Tennessee, national resource management and policy alumnus; Malawi
• Vicki Searl, Rineyville, music performance graduate student; United Kingdom-Wales
• Hung Ryan Vuong, New Albany, Indiana, senior biochemistry major; Switzerland

“The Fulbright is an incredible opportunity to not only share in other cultures, but to also share my culture with others,” said 2015 alumna Kara Stivers, who has applied for a Fulbright teaching position in the Republic of Georgia. “I look forward to the friendships I will develop and the exchange of ideas.”

“The resilience and commitment of students and faculty to education in spite of challenges, including access to library resources and learning tools, periodic power outages, and logistical problems, was truly inspiring,” Harris said.

During her time in Ghana, Harris worked as professor at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, School of Public Health, teaching a course in curriculum development and three courses on a variety of health promotion topics. She co-wrote two grants, served as a supervisor for a graduate student thesis and one dissertation, and completed a curriculum development project resulting in a report, “School of Public Health KNUST, Curriculum Development Study Report”. Harris also worked on a research project about the perpetration of sexual violence with the non-profit organization, Ultimate Health; she hopes to continue that research agenda in the United States.

As a result of her engagement with KNUST students, Harris helped lead a community development project to build and commission a restroom facility with six toilets for 350 students and teachers at Pramkese Presby Primary School. She says restrooms are scarce in less populated regions of Ghana, and although this was not an expectation of the Fulbright program, she made personal contributions to help make the project possible.

“It was fulfilling to be a role model for community development, and see how others came together to give funds or in-kind gifts like cement to create a much needed facility that we often take for granted in the United States,” she said.

Among the other highlights of Harris’ experience included participating in the Rotary Club of Kumasi, attending Akwasidae – a festival held every 42 days to pay homage to the Ashanti King, and helping host a U.S. ambassador.

“The most important lesson I learned was that everyone wants the best from their lives, and strives for that goal in the best way they know,” Harris said. “It is important when immersing into another culture to find out what people want and support that rather than going in with an agenda and trying to create change. It is best to merge with their philosophies.”

About the Fulbright Scholar Program

Each year, the awards nearly 600 teaching, research or combination teaching/research awards in more thanĚý125 countries. The competitive program is open to college and university faculty and administrators, as well as artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, independent scholars, and other professionals.

Blair, a 2014 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, now works in UofL’s Office of International Student and Scholar Services and with the U.S. Department of State Institute on Contemporary American Literature hosted by UofL. TheĚýEnglish and humanities major spoke to UofL News about her time in Turkey during the Syrian refugee crisis.

UofL News: What was the most challenging part of the trip?

Blair:ĚýA combination of the language barrier and also continually undoing my own stereotypes that arose due to the general distrust and dislike of ‘foreigners’ in my city, in particular non-Muslim Westerners. I think that language is essential to reducing the tensions that otherwise might exist between individuals of two different cultures. At the same time that I was hoping English would provide this critical bridge between my Turkish and Syrian students, I, too, needed Turkish to understand and appreciate my host culture.

UofL News: What was the best part of the trip?

Blair: The best part of my Fulbright experience was the plethora of relief organizations in my city for Syrians. It felt impossible not to become involved in various community centers, libraries, and medical organizations teaching English. My Fulbright teaching experience at the university was challenging as well as rewarding, but — as was the case during my years at UofL — my deep involvement with community organizations was what motivated me daily.

UofL News: If you could do it again, what would you do differently?

Blair:ĚýI would have taken more books on contemporary American literature with me as resources (for English language books) were scarce. Most of all, I would have studied the host-country language (Turkish) more intensely before my departure.

UofL News: Was this the type of academic and cultural experience you expected when you won your Fulbright award?

Blair: My academic and cultural experience in Turkey has exceeded my initial expectations and I am so thankful for this. I did not expect so many opportunities to design and lead community literacy projects, collaborate with relief organizations, or attend academic conferences. In other words, my experience provided me with a professionalism that I did not think possible this early in my academic career.

UofL News: What was the most surprising part ofĚýthe trip?

Blair: The great amount of Syrians leading or working in medical and relief organizations with projects in Turkey and Syria. My initially naĂŻve view of ‘NGO life’ involved Europeans and Americans as the leaders helping the passive Syrians, which sadly I think is a common view. However, the leadership of Syrians helping Syrians is what defines relief efforts in Gaziantep and gives the community a unique character.

UofL News: Did the trip change your perspective? If so, how?

Blair: The trip changed so many of my different perspectives in life, but the most changed perspective involves how Americans are perceived by other cultures. Via the comments of my students and peers, my own experiences involving my nationality, witnessing how other Americans interact socially in a foreign culture, and viewing the conversations of Americans from outside of the U.S., my image of Americans has been humbled.

UofL News: What would you tell others who may be considering academic study in an unstable part of the world?

Blair: I would tell others to spend some time self-reflecting in order to decide if what they would be doing was worth the challenge and risk. At a certain point during my grant period, I was offered the chance to return home to the U.S. due to security concerns regarding my placement along the Syrian border. This moment solidified for me that staying in Gaziantep was worth the risk I was taking, for I could not imagine my life without teaching English to such a motivated, appreciative and resilient community.