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Meet and Greet

Dear friends, partners, and associates of Fulbright Austria, get to know our new US Fulbright scholars this February—you're invited to a meet and greet with the incoming cohort!

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Event Invitation: NOT KOSHER

Rosabel Rosalind Kurth-Sofer approaches the human body as an ambiguous space of contention and a complex system of various identities. Through drawing, painting, and printmaking, she depicts fantastical and grotesque caricatures with a sense of empathy, and in so doing she celebrates those who are underestimated and misunderstood.

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After Fulbright: An Interview with Fulbright Austria Alumna Ute Reisinger

Ute Reisinger was a Fulbright grantee in 2015 and studied at the University of Connecticut. Before moving to the United States, she worked in the private sector and in international development in Europe, China, and Mozambique. Ute has worked for the Inter-American Development Bank since completing her master’s degree in international studies. Read more about her post-Fulbright experience here.

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An FLTA Road Trip in the US

Four people from four different countries, a round-trip plane ticket from Cleveland to Las Vegas, a car rental in Las Vegas, and a detailed plan with the routes to follow each day is all you need to start a multicultural road trip/adventure in the US. In October 2018, four Foreign Language Teaching Assistants living in Ohio decided to start this amazing adventure for their fall break. Benjamin Fischer from Austria, Vanessa Medina from Mexico, Marie Corlay from France, and Zhengchun Zhang from China—we are the Fulbrighters who decided to discover the US but never imagined that we would end up discovering more about our own cultures.

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Studying Abroad: Life as a Student in a Different University Setting

Living and studying in a different country is often a defining moment in a young person’s life. Though the US and Austrian educational systems have much in common, one of the challenges faced by Fulbright students from the two countries is adapting to the differences they come across while navigating academia in their respective host country. We asked Austrian Fulbright student Julia Pataky and US Fulbright student Nathan Stobaugh to shed some light on their experience studying in a new environment and to share their thoughts on what aspects of university life in their host country could be incorporated into student life back home.

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THANK FULBRIGHT – THANKSGIVING: A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Thank Fulbright – Thanksgiving—what a tradition! More than 100 alumni and friends joined Fulbright Austria in celebrating Thanksgiving on "Giving Tuesday" (November 27) at Glacis Beisl. Austrian and American Fulbright alumni from seven decades mingled with friends of the Fulbright Program over a traditional dinner co-hosted by Fulbright Austria and the Austrian Fulbright Alumni Association to celebrate and recognize our first major donors. We asked Maria Sanchez—one of the Fulbright Alumni, current Fulbright recipients, and guests of honor that enjoyed the turkey & wine reception—to share a few words about her experience that evening.

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In Memoriam: Trude Wild (1924–2018)

Fulbright Austria is saddened to announce the passing of Trude Wild, the legendary educational advisor of Austrian Fulbright students, at the age of 95 on December 22, 2018.

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2018: A Year in Review

2018 has been a busy and exciting year for Fulbright Austria! Take a look at our timeline for some highlights from this year.

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An Interview: Helmut Sohmen on his Fulbright Experience: Be Prepared!

Helmut Sohmen remains grateful to the Fulbright idea and has pledged a generous contribution to Fulbright Austria at a time when government budget restrictions everywhere are creating funding shortages. In typical Sohmen fashion, he wants to provide help when it is needed to give other youngsters chances in life similar to those he was privileged to enjoy. “After all, actions speak louder than words,” he says, “and I hope my fellow Fulbright scholars and the politicians are listening.”

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Thank Fulbright – Thanksgiving hits the news!

Our annual Thank Fulbright - Thanksgiving event on “Giving Tuesday” at the Glacis Beisl was a great success with more than 100 alumni, friends and associates of the Fulbright Program in attendance. Together we have so far raised more than €20,000, which will be doubled by incentive funding provided by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. Thank you for your generous contributions!

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Reading by Fulbright Alumna Lilly Maier: Arthur und Lilly, November 28, 2018

In Arthur und Lilly, Fulbright alumna Lilly Maier tells the poignant story of an Austrian Holocaust survivor and her friendship with him. "I had a wonderful life," Arthur Kern muses, meaning his childhood in Vienna – up to that fateful moment in 1939, when at the age of just ten he is suddenly separated from his family. Hoping to save him from the Holocaust, his Jewish parents send him away to an unfamiliar world with a Kindertransport, or children's transport – a traumatic experience for the ten-year-old. He manages to escape to America via France, but he never sees his family again.

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Thank Fulbright - Thanksgiving - November 27, 2018

Last year, we started a new tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving with the Fulbright family. Together we gave thanks and counted our blessings because as alumni of the Fulbright Program, we know how fortunate we are to have had such life-changing opportunities. We hope you will join us this year for our Thanksgiving celebration and rekindle your Fulbright experience.

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YOUR INVITATION TO THANK FULBRIGHT – THANKSGIVING, November 27, 2018

Do you want to celebrate Thanksgiving on “Giving Tuesday” with the Fulbright family? Fulbright Austria is inviting all alumni, friends, and associates of the program who respond to our second annual call for support this fall to a Thanksgiving dinner on November 27, 2018. This is a great time of the year to express our gratitude and to count our blessings, because as alumni of the Fulbright Program, we know how fortunate we are to have had such life-changing opportunities. We hope you will join us this year to rekindle your Fulbright experience.

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New Fulbright Austria Staff Member: Karin Schachner, MA

Fulbright Austria greets its newest team member Karin Schachner

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New Fulbright Austria Staff Member: Darrah Lustig, MAIS

Darrah Lustig joins the Fulbright Austria team!

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Theodora Ivanova Nestorova Modern Austrian Vocal Pedagogy in a Global Context

For a young soprano, freshly graduated from Oberlin Conservatory, the opportunity to do a Fulbright Study/Research grant in Vienna, the capital of classical music, is a life-changing experience.

News Alumni Editorial

Waiting a Lifetime to Give Back: Alumni Respond to Our Call for Support

The beginning of a new program year is also a time to take stock, and I want to take this opportunity to look back and to look ahead with you.

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A Tour of the Bundesländer: USTA Welcome Events, October 2018

Over the last few weeks, this year’s US teaching assistants have been adjusting to their lives in Austria, and Program Officer Dune Johnson spent that time traveling to the various provinces to meet the 2018-19 cohort. For some, this month has marked their first intrepid steps into Austria’s vibrant culture, while others have returned for a second year to delve further into everything this beautiful Alpine country has to offer. During the tour of the Bundesländer, Dune asked the USTAs to share their first impressions of Austria or, if they had returned for a second year, what they had missed while they were away for the summer. Below is a selection of their responses.

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Adapting to a New Country: USTA & FLTA Orientations

Moving to a new place always involves certain challenges, and while some feel at home right away, others must first surmount their initial apprehensions before they feel comfortable in a new setting. We asked two teaching assistants to share their orientation experiences with us: USTA Leah Bruce, who is residing in Steyr, Upper Austria, and FLTA Vanessa Erat, who is currently living in Norman, Oklahoma. Though their paths meandered along different routes, both have happily settled into their new adventure. Here are their stories.

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2018-19 orientation brings US and UK teaching assistants together for a week of work and fun

Of the 153 US teaching assistants who will be teaching in schools in communities large and small all across Austria, 105 are first-year USTAs who attended the annual weeklong orientation seminar organized by the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science, and Research. USTAs assigned to schools in Vienna, Lower Austria, Styria, and Burgenland attended orientation in St. Pölten, while those working in schools in Carinthia, Salzburg, Tirol, Vorarlberg, and Upper Austria learned about the program in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. Participants at both orientations had a chance to learn about the Austrian school system, to put together lesson plans, to visit local classrooms, and to mingle with their fellow teaching assistants from the US and the UK. Congratulations to all first-year USTAs for successfully completing orientation; we look forward to an exciting school year!