Romanian Fulbright Grantee 2011-2012, Indiana University, Bloomington

February 23rd. Sacramento airport. I’m waiting for the shuttle to take me to the Sheraton hotel where I’m going to meet another 140 Fulbrighters from around the world. On the bus stop there is another girl waiting. It takes us less than 10 seconds to recognize each other.

-Fulbright enrichment seminar? I ask.

-Of course, she answers. She is Anastasia from Russia. We start talking as if we have known each other for ages. In the bus, we easily spot other tree Fulbrighters. We say our names and the countries where we come from. As we arrive at the hotel, we meet more people. The equation starts to become more and more complicated with every new comer. After spending twenty minutes in the lobby I feel already overloaded with faces, names, countries, fields of studies and names of universities from all over US. I go out to take some fresh air and the first thing I see just across the street is a huge sign reading: Munteanu’s – Romanian, Hungarian and Greek food. I cross the street, enter the small restaurant, greet the owners in Romanian. They are happy to see me. They offer me to taste the food. It tastes like home. Five minutes later I am back in the lobby with a serious diplomatic task – to invite as many fellows Fulbrighters to have lunch in the Romanian restaurant. I cannot think of a better way to introduce them to my culture than through the delicious Romanian dishes. As everybody is hungry and the dinner is scheduled a few hours later my success rate is pretty high. Over 15 people join me for lunch. I start attaching stories to the faces around me. The hours pass by and I have more and more the feeling that I am at a family gathering. A worldwide family.

Catalina Ulrich - Fulbright Senior Scholar 2011-2012, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – was invited as a visiting professor to the University of West Alabama, Livingston. Catalina’s research focuses on education for diversity in U.S. secondary schools and teacher education programs. She is particularly interested in project-based learning, as a catalyst in building learning communities based on diversity and social justice in schools. Catalina’s host at UIUC is Professor Emeritus Robert Stake, Director of the Center for Instructional Research and Curriculum Evaluation CIRCE. 

Catalina had a lecture on The Culture and Community of Romania (on January 18) for more than 200 students, faculty and community members at University of West Alabama, a regional state university located in the heart of Alabama’s Black Belt. Next days she had presentations related to her research, visited many College of Education’ classes and had meeting with university’ faculty. “This visit gave me one more opportunity to reflect on the statement that equity that is not only right in principle, it is right in practice. Southern Alabama is different than Midwest Illinois. Schools are different, contexts are different, however many cross-cutting issues are common.” Talks concentrated on questions like How does the school incorporate a social justice agenda to enhance its educational provision for students (valuing developmental, gender, ethnic background, skills differences)? and Which are key elements of in-site teacher professional development program focusing on creating socially and culturally responsive environments?

Everybody wonders about the American dream. I had the chance to live the dream, due to the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program. International teachers had the opportunity to develop their expertise, to learn and teach.

My host university was Claremont Graduate University, in Southern California. We were 22 fellows from 12 countries: Thailand, India, El Salvador, Poland, Kazakhstan, Ghana, Russia Federation, Ukraine, Rwanda, Colombia, Morocco and Romania.

On the very first day at CGU the TEA Fellows created a mind map and we found out about what we were supposed to do during six weeks . It was a rigorous program designated to help us develop expertise in our subjects areas and enhance classrooms skills. The professional development included academic seminars and clinical experience. We had three classes at CGU: Teaching and Learning Process, Methods Class and Technology Class. These classes concluded with four lesson plans, which had to include  student engaging strategies. The  final evaluation took place in Washington D.C when we had to demonstrate our skills during 10 minutes of micro-teaching.

Romanian  Fulbright (‘Ron Brown’)  Grantee 2000-2001, UConn Law School, CT

How many of us haven’t heard about how Steve Jobs succeeded without having a college degree? Probably most, if not all of you.   But how many “Steve Jobs” do you know? One? Five? A dozen? Maybe more, maybe less. But likely few enough to prove that these are the exceptions that cannot transform all of us into potential leaders of our world.

Notwithstanding Steve Jobs and his incredible life, I would still plead for education even if we are born with more skills than the average person, or if we have a greater capacity to understand or create.

I have always believed that a solid society can only grow healthier and stronger when its roots are well grounded and nourished.  And one of the most important ingredients for this essential growth is a good performing education.  Much can be said about the value of education in any context, but I would like to briefly focus on the specific difference that a legal education can make for the rule of law and a legal system of a country.