The academic year of 1951–52 profoundly shaped my life. I was deeply impressed by American ways of life, adherence to democratic principles, a culture of tolerance, mutual respect, self-critical evaluation of attitudes and behavior, readiness for reorientation and new starts after failure, optimistic outlook also under pressure, social responsibilities in society.

I chose the career of a political journalist, globetrotted professionally and privately around the world repeatedly, represented my Viennese daily in Washington and New York for several years, wrote books, delivered papers, moderated societal events, met bigwigs and people in need and never forgot that I owed much of the fulfillment I derived from it to my early Fulbright experiences.

Hubert Feichtlbauer is a graduate of the University of Vienna with a degree in journalism. He studied at St. Louis University as an Austrian Fulbright Student in 1951–52.