Two KSC faculty members discussed their experiences as Fulbright Scholarship recipients during a Faculty Research Roundtable event in the L.P. Young Student Center’s atrium on Wednesday, Sept. 24. Professor of Health Sciences Margaret Henning and Professor of Education and Holocaust and Genocide Studies John Sturtz, both recipients of the coveted federal exchange program, shared stories from their respective experiences to an audience of campus community members, mostly consisting of academic colleagues.
Henning discussed her work in Zambia with community-based health work and shared information and advice for audience members who may be interested in pursuing a Fulbright scholarship in their own fields.
“My first [Fulbright] experience was research-based, and you can do either teaching or research. I did, however, do teaching as part of that, and one of the key points I’m trying to convey is that when you go to do Fulbright, you should expect to do something a little bit different from your plan, and the institution hosting you might have a different plan. Hopefully the two connect, but you have to stay flexible,” said Henning.
“My process was that I applied, and the first time I was not accepted. I had to delay my sabbatical, which is always a hard moment, but then I leaned in and figured out what I needed to do differently and ended up reapplying. What I learned is that I needed to better match what was being posted on the Fulbright website with what I wanted to do. When I applied the second time and asked to delay my sabbatical, I was accepted and left for Zambia in the summer,” added Henning.
Henning said it is important to pitch yourself to the Fulbright team without assuming that they are experts in the specific field of area of interest that you are in.
Sturtz, whose Fulbright experience brought him to a summer teaching position at the University of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 2022, said that campus community members, whether faculty or students, should come out to faculty research roundtable events to take advantage of the conversations they can offer. Sturtz encouraged students to consider Fulbright student opportunities that align with their goals.
“This is an institution of higher education and learning, and any opportunity to learn something outside of the classroom is a valuable experience. Things that aren’t necessarily on the curriculum can find their way into a student’s education. The Fulbright program does have opportunities for students, and all they have to do is go onto the Fulbright website and look,” said Sturtz.
“My pre-departure sessions included a lot of sessions with undergraduates who were preparing to do their own Fulbrights, whether it was teaching English or engaging in research, and there [are] a lot of opportunities that the Fulbright experience has,” added Sturtz.
Faculty research roundtables are held throughout the year and are a labor of love spearheaded by Professor of Education Darrell Hucks, who started the discussions in order to offer an informal space for faculty members to discuss their work with the campus community.
“Share! You have some knowledge, tell it. If you know how to do this well, we should hear from you,” said Hucks.
“Just to have two faculty members come together, even if they don’t have related topics, but just share a space and talk, we get the chance to both acknowledge the value of our colleagues that we respect and have space to talk about what we’re doing, and also appreciate the fact that we have some smart and impressive people doing amazing things here at Keene State College, and we heard that today,” added Hucks.
Lab Technician Heidi Lauricella attended the research roundtable, and said she enjoys the chance to support her colleagues and hear about their work.
“I really wanted to support my colleagues, other faculty, and this is one of the benefits of the job that I have. Where else can a person have a job where they can stop in the middle of the day and go here about someone else’s amazing story?” said Lauricella.
“As an employee, I get paid and get health insurance, but I also get to be a part of this amazing and dynamic learning community,” added Lauricella.
Ryan Pacheco can be contacted at
rpacheco@kscequinox.com
