AMIDEAST Staff Post: Matthew Guckenberg attends the Enrichment Seminar in Philadelphia

I had the great pleasure to attend the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar in Philadelphia this year, which focused on Civic Engagement in the Arts. The event started with a highly energetic and passionate presentation from Jane Golden, Executive Director of the City of Philadelphia, Mural Arts program. The students were engaged and excited about their next day’s activity, where they would get to take part in painting one of the thousands of murals that Jane helped bring to Philadelphia. 

  

 

Following the painting of some of the sections of the murals, which are painted onto parachute cloth and then pieced together and glued to the side of a building, we took a trolley tour of some of the more famous murals in Philadelphia. One of which is a four story painting of former NBA Basketball Player, Dr. J, wearing a suit. 

 
The final day of the seminar concluded with a great presentation by me and Megan Ames from the Institute of International Education (IIE), followed by a dance workshop. The dance workshop was great fun as well as very informative. We got to see how MindLeaps, a new NGO, uses dance education to help better the lives of young people in Rwanda. Following the viewing of a short documentary and discussion about the MindLeaps program, the students were led through one of the same workshops that are used with the Rwandan children.

 

The Fulbright Enrichment Seminar in Philadelphia was a great opportunity to visit with students from all over the world and to learn about all the great things they are planning to do to increase civic engagement in their own communities.

Matthew Guckenberg works for the Fulbright team at AMIDEAST in Washington, DC.

Fun Travels with the Utah Fulbright Chapter

 The Utah Fulbright chapter arranged a hike and a one-night stay at the Capitol Reef National Park, which is one of five national parks in the state of Utah. The chapter organized most of the trip logistics, and we had some suggestions as we went along the trip.

We carpooled to Capitol Reef and it was an interesting four-hour drive as it was full of discussions and fun games. As soon as we arrived at our destination, we checked in the inn and went for a quick walk to discover the small town for a while. The next morning after breakfast we all went on an amazing hike at Capitol Reef National Park where we saw petroglyphs, red rocks, and historic structures. The scenery was spectacular and it reminded me of Jordan’s Wadi Rum, which is also known as the valley of the moon.

We left the park after dinner and arrived back in Salt Lake City a little before midnight. It was a wonderful trip to southern Utah, and sharing it with other Fulbrighters added uniqueness to the experience.

Khalid Ahmed is a Jordanian Fulbrighter who is pursuing an MS in Computational Engineering and Science at University of Utah.

Volunteering with the New Orleans Community

On Tuesday, May 12, 2015, I joined a group of Tulane Fulbright Scholars to help assist New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, and AmeriCorps in New Orleans. We left the university at 7:00 AM and headed to America Street in New Orleans, where volunteers were already hard at work. NOAHH is planning a ten-day, ten-home blitz build this month in commemoration of the decennial anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and so our job was to help lay the foundations for some homes and prepare them for wall-raising.

Most of us didn't have any construction experience and some of us had never even held a hammer before. However, the AmeriCorps staff were very patient with us and immediately put us to work. With my friends from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Uzbekistan, we built walls, put together windows and hammered in so many nails. We learned terms such as “flush”, “plum” and “king jack”. I helped put in five porches in five different houses, after mastering the circular saw and the electric screwdriver. Even though I cut myself on power tools, sweated in 86-degree weather and got a spectacular sunburn, I enjoyed myself a lot and I was proud to know that I helped build a new home for someone in need. In the past year, I have been part of an incredible community and I loved to give back, even if just a little, to New Orleans. New Orleans is an amazing city, incredibly resilient, and I’m very proud to be part of the ongoing effort to rebuild the city that has become my home.

Tamam Tawk is a Lebanese Fulbrighter who is pursuing an LLM at Tulane University.

International Week at Texas A&M University

Last week was International Week at Texas A&M University, which included many activities to show on-campus diversity at our school to educate students about different cultures. I volunteered at 3 events, which were called I-History, I-Exhibit, and I-Fashion. 

At I-History, I gave a 10-minute presentation on the rich history of Bahrain. There were only 9 countries represented in this event. The audience was so pleased to hear about Bahrain and learn about its history and culture.

At I-Exhibit, I joined forces with the Arab Student Association and showcased many items about Bahrain that were displayed alongside other Arab countries at the event. I volunteered at the booth and answered any questions from visitors. It was set up in a very live and vibrant place where many students walked by.

At, I-Fashion I wore traditional clothing of my home country and carried the flag on stage, alongside other participants from different countries. This was the biggest event of International Week, and it was done at a large theater and attended by many people. Everyone enjoyed the diversity and the show that was put together in this event.


Ahmed Almulla is a Bahraini Fulbrighter who is pursuing an MBA at Texas A&M University.

Tribal Visits in Arizona and New Mexico

On Friday, November 14th, my friends and I headed to Window Rock, Arizona, which lies in the heart of Navajo nation. We visited the Navajo National Museum which contained information about the different Native American code breakers, as well as paintings, copies of Navajo treaties with the U.S. government, and information and images from the Navajo Long Walk.

On Saturday, we visited the Window Rock itself which is located at the Navajo Nation Tribal Park. Window Rock is a sacred Diné site and the origin of one of the Creation stories in Diné culture. After that, we traveled to Canyon de Chelley, which is another sacred Diné site. It was amazing to see the Anasazi ruins lodged deep in the canyon. The Diné and Laguna peoples believe that the Anasazi were their ancestors.

The following day we made the trek to Monument Valley. This area is riddled with amazing views and rock formations; the sediments in the ground giving the earth a reddish color. Monument Valley is home to many Diné people, and there were several jewelry makers there making a living.

On Monday, we headed to Tuba City and to the Hopi reservation. We got to visit all three Mesas, as well as the Hopi Cultural Center which had a great collection of pictures of Hopi land and people over the years. We also visited Old Oraibi, which is a Hopi village in the Navajo Nation, and the oldest city in the United States.

On a separate trip, we traveled to New Mexico to attend the Sante Fé Winter Indian Market, which is held at the Sante Fé Community Convention Center. The convention is for Native American artists to display their artwork. This was a great opportunity to converse with people from so many different tribes across the United States. I also got to interview Laguna artist Marla Allison and meet Lee Marmon, a famous Laguna photographer. Lee is the father of Laguna writer Leslie Marmon Silko on whom I’m writing my thesis. We visited Lee in his house at Laguna, and he talked about his experiences as a Native American photographer.

Dalia Abdel Maboud Ebeid is an Egyptian Fulbright student who is performing thesis research on American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona.

My Enrichment Seminar Experience

I just returned to Spokane, WA after spending few days in Lexington, KY where we had our enrichment seminar on Global Health Innovations.

During that seminar I had the chance to meet very intellectual people from all over the world. I never felt more blessed and thankful in my life than I did during the few days I spent in Kentucky. I met bright, innovative, and ambitious men and women who were full of desire and determination to make the world worth living. Topics discussed were brilliant, and experts were there to answer our questions with great passion and professionalism. I was there asking questions, leading a discussion group, and hoping I could get full advantage of every single moment. Days went fast and soon the journey ended, but after it implemented in our souls the seeds of freedom, knowledge, and hope.

Previously, I thought that the Fulbright program aims to facilitate and enhance the mutual understanding between Americans and non-Americans. How myopic was that point of view! Indeed, Fulbright is successful in making us understand each other and think of our globe as a one beautiful home! Through such academic and exchange programs we become sure our future will be bright and peace will eventually prevail. 

It is a pity to only attend one seminar throughout my study period in the US. I believe there is still a lot to learn, more people to meet, and many adventures to be taken. In one of the presentations, I saw a picture of Mr. J. William Fulbright; without thinking twice, I was saying: thank you sir, people like you changed the face of the planet! History will tell that a man from Arkansas did the world a very big favor.

Thank you U.S. Department of State (Fulbright) for giving me that opportunity, thank you AMIDEAST for being the guardian of that wonderful program, and last but not least, thank you America for teaching me how the good in us can turn to great!

Walid Al-Soneidar is a Yemeni Fulbrighter who is pursuing an MHA in Health Policy & Administration at Washington State University – Spokane.

Summer Internship Opportunity

At TechWeek Chicago's Opening Party.

 

As part of my summer internship, which was at a design/entrepreneurship firm in Chicago called “Doejo,” one of the many projects that I was working on was a start-up called "ScienceBox" (www.sciencebox.co). ScienceBox is a start-up that provides online drug screening software that includes a prediction tool for pharmaceutical companies to use prior to the drug screening process. It is an intelligent system that gives companies the ability to perform drug screening efficiently before running any clinical evaluation. Pharmaceuticals are a $100 billion market and inventing a new drug costs around $5 billion alone, with most of that money being spent on drug screening. Our solution is fast, cheap and more comprehensive compared to current existing methods used in drug development.

At the ScienceBox Booth at TechWeek Chicago

 

By using our solution, drug invention costs are expected to be reduced for pharmaceutical companies. The concept of the start-up is brilliant and people were impressed by the idea and hopefully we will be able to launch the service sometime in 2015 with the help of the company’s advisory board. I have been helping them develop a business plan, the investor's deck, financial models and representing the company in TechWeek Chicago. 

Representing Syracuse at the MBA tour in Chicago.

TechWeek Chicago was a great opportunity to network and build relationships throughout the world especially in the booming tech industry. I have participated in the opening party, the booths competition and other seminars and workshops that were available at the event.

Nour Taher is a Palestinian Fulbright grantee from West Bank who is pursuing an MBA at Syracuse University.