Fulbright Orientation~Life changing and it's just begun!

Last week I attended the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Orientation in Washington, DC. Teachers from all over the country attended, who are fellow Fulbright DAT (Distinguished Awards in Teaching) recipients. These US educators will be traveling to a variety of countries over the course of the year. US teachers will be traveling to Chile, Mexico, Israel, Palestinian Territories, New Zealand (woohoo!), the UK (Belfast, Ireland and England), South Korea, India, Finland, and Singapore, 41 of us in total. In addition, we welcomed international teachers (11 in total) from India, Singapore, Mexico, Morocco, Finland and New Zealand. We also met US teachers who completed the program last year and traveled to the UK, India, Finland, Israel, and Mexico. 

OK, so here's the thing...I have always had to work hard in school. As an adult I'm most grateful for this hard work because I think this is why my work ethic is pretty solid. That being said, I had to pinch myself throughout the whole experience last week. Here I was, this girl who loves to travel and meet people, but also had to spend countless hours toiling away on my studies. Therefore,  I honestly kept thinking, "This is a dream", "How did I get here?", and "I'm so lucky!".  It brought tears to my eyes on several occasions, even while running on the treadmill!  However, as those thoughts kept repeating in my mind, I talked to all of the other teachers and they too felt the same. Everyone was humble, yet intelligent and kind. At the closing ceremony, while people were saying their goodbyes, the word that was used to describe the week was "warm". We learned from each other, had our voices heard, laughed a lot, and became rejuvenated. We were thanked for the work we do and we were honored as distinguished teachers. 

This experience reminded to keep my mind open, to really listen to others, and gave me the faith that people really do want to make positive changes. People want to live in a world where we can exchange ideas, learn from each other, and accept each other and our differences. This may sound idealistic, however, this past week truly promoted a mutual understanding of cultures and ideas.

I have never met people of such like minds...people who have a love of learning, meeting others, discussing ideas (both professionally and personally), and a desire to see the world, actually, a desire to soak up the world. 

In my next post I will list resources that I gleaned from the professional development, but right now I'm basking in this revelry of being a Fulbrighter and feel honored to be in the same class of people that I met in Washington, DC last week. 

Receiving my Fulbright pin!

THE VIEWS AND INFORMATION PRESENTED ON THIS SITE ARE MY OWN AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE FULBRIGHT PROGRAM OR THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

I GOT IT!

I became interested in teaching abroad since I became a teacher 10 years ago. Teaching abroad is on the bucket-list, along with running a 1/2 marathon, getting my PH.D, traveling to New Zealand/Fiji, and owning a ski home. In fact, I was even looking into teaching in Abu Dhabi, however (yes, as pathetic as it sounds), I couldn't give up my beloved Oliver for two years while teaching in the Middle East. Oliver being my puppy dog. Long story short, I began to Google opportunities and found the Fulbright Teacher Exchange, however with much disappointment, I also found out the program was canceled due to funding. What I did come across was the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching, however this seemed much more involved, approximately 20 essay questions, recommendations, interviews, etc...My thought process went like this: "That must be for extremely intelligent people and I am certainly not that bright". However, being the 'determined' Irish girl that I am, I decided to apply- the worst that could happen was that if I didn't receive the award, it was only my time that was wasted, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Lo-and-behold, I am honored to have received the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching. I will be traveling to New Zealand from February 2015-August (Fulbright funds Feb 1-May 31 and then I'm trying to save my pennies to stay a few more months). 

After deciding to apply, I then began the application process- which takes a lot of time and thoughtfulness-I am going to write a few pieces of information about the application process because when I Googled the process, I couldn't find anyone who had written about this. Here are my tips for those looking into applying for such a Fulbright Award:
1) DO IT! I never thought I would be given such an honor, it's worth a try!
2) START EARLY. You cannot whip out this application in a weekend. I believe I started answering the essay questions in October, in Microsoft Word-DON'T SUBMIT ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE EDITED AND RE-EDITED. There are personal questions and also questions for your capstone. It takes thoughtfulness to decide on a capstone project that would interesting, in-depth, yet also attainable to research and study in four months.
3) ATTEND WEBINARS. The Fulbright DAT (Distinguished Awards in Teaching) will offer webinars about the application process. ATTEND THEM! You will gain important information about the process.
4) REACH OUT. The Fulbright DAT staff is extremely responsive and helpful. They want you to apply and are eager to help.
5) BE CREATIVE. I used some poetry that I had written for a course and included some details about my life that I consider close to my heart.
5) BE HONEST. You need to write professionally, but not technically. Do not use words you would not use in conversation. If you get to the end of the process, you will have an interview. My take on the interview is that they are confirming that you are who you presented in your application.
6) BE PATIENT. The application deadline is in December and I did not find out until mid-end of April.
7) FEEL HONORED. Feel good that you have applied and completed the application process.

• Check off "travel to New Zealand" and teach abroad on the bucket-list!

If you are fortunate to receive the award the timeline may look like this:
Apply mid-December.
They will confirm receipt of all of your information December-February.
March- interview.
April-notified if you received the Fulbright DAT.
April-May: provide more information (if you are going to your host country the following winter, you do not need to do the medical form just yet-I made that mistake), however there is a rush to get the DAT staff all of the appropriate information once you've been accepted. EMAIL the DAT Staff with any questions, they will answer any and all questions.
August- Orientation with all other recipients- US and international (in Washington, DC).
THE VIEWS AND INFORMATION PRESENTED ON THIS SITE ARE MY OWN AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE FULBRIGHT PROGRAM OR THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE