I definitely got a typical US campus university experience at CSB-SJU. But the great thing is I got even more than that."
I was able to play the amazing organs in Austria and at the same time travel with our pop group and become thoroughly immersed in Austrian culture. The experiences I received in Austria continue to shape the way I perform, teach, and direct.
I arrived at the idyllic, tucked-away liberal-arts campus of Saint John’s University in Collegeville in mid-August and was treated with a perfectly coordinated welcome and, on top of that, four gorgeous weeks of nicely tempered summer in the upper Midwest. Not only was the weather fine for the most part; the small community at SJU (1,900 students) and its sister College of Saint Benedict proved to be extremely caring and definitely lived up to their trademark “Minnesota nice” way of life.
Das Fulbright-Programm hat mir nicht nur die Möglichkeit gegeben, in das Bildungs- und Universitätswesen der USA einzutauchen, neue Kontakte zu knüpfen und Unterrichtserfahrung zu sammeln, sondern auch die Vielfalt der Vereinigten Staaten kennenzulernen.
My Fulbright award allowed me to interview members of the Archduke’s family, other Habsburg descendants, and people across Austria and Germany impacted by the Second World War and the Holocaust. It has been said by many people, in many places, over many years that having a Fulbright is a life-changing experience. That has certainly been the case for me.
As is often the case with choir, everyone was very friendly and did their best to make me feel welcome. Being a part of the choir, of course, helped me learn the dialect better; but in a much more important way, it made me feel like I was a part of the community.
You can take the teacher out of the Fulbright Program, but you can never take the Fulbright Program out of the teacher. In fact, you cannot even fully achieve the former—the bond that unites all recipients of this wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience is much too strong.
Teaching my first language to others taught me so much about it, about myself, in return.
It is impossible to put all my experiences during this year into one story—I could probably fill a whole book. It was a year that I will never forget, a year that helped make me the person I am today.
This experience helped me grow an insane amount, and I am forever thankful for Fulbright Austria bringing me a new family—even if they’re based 4,300 miles from home.
I know the value of this experience and how much it changed me, my life, and my future. I’m so incredibly thankful for every moment I could experience during my time in North Carolina.
One of my favorite classes I ever taught as a USTA was a joint lesson I invited the British TA in town to come and do with me in my English Freiwahl class on British vs. American English.
To be a Fulbrighter and a law student at this place is something special. Diversity, solidarity, and the public commitment of students and faculty are embraced and taken very seriously. These values also reflect the reasons why I aspired to become a part of the Fulbright Program.
Fulbright FLTA 2018–19: such a great opportunity, such a great adventure, so thankful, so thankful, so glad.
My year as a Fulbrighter brought me one considerable step closer to analyzing current issues in a more global context and to becoming a more open-minded and tolerant human being.
There are a million and one stories I could tell about my year as an FLTA in the US. I was lucky to receive the chance to teach German at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. All in all, I cannot say more than a simple THANK YOU, FULBRIGHT!
This program has given me the opportunity to experience small-campus life in the Pacific Northwest and to discover a beautiful region that was unknown to me before and that I probably would never have visited.
Applying to Fulbright Austria was certainly one of the best decisions I made in college. I learned so much from different cultures and made lifelong friends and great memories! If given the chance, I would recommend visiting Austria. Stellung, bereit, los!
I will always continue to spread the Fulbright spirit in the world and stand up for what I believe in, which is that diversity is a massive chance and a necessity for a society and its members to thrive.
I still think of my time in Austria as the most important time in my life. The friends I met while in Austria are some of my strongest relationships. And thank goodness for my skills in public speaking that I cultivated in Austria!
Page 1 of 7.
Submit your Story
