Enchanted by Ireland in 2003, I vowed to return to live and work there for a year.  My husband and I had fallen in love with the people, pubs, landscape, food, architecture, music, and even the climate.  (Admittedly, we had false impressions of the climate, since our two-week trip coincided with a “heat wave” where temperatures hit a whopping 75F each day and rain was nowhere in sight.)

I returned home and researched the requirements for becoming a Fulbright Core Scholar.  Securing a Fulbright grant was going to be more difficult than I’d thought, but I did see a possible route to achieving that goal.  I’d significantly improve my chances if I earned architectural licensure and a doctorate.  Over the years, I chipped away at my iceberg — earning a license to practice architecture in 2005 and a PhD in Higher Education in 2010.

I submitted an application to Fulbright right after graduation, but to no avail.  That inital application got kicked out in the first round of competition. I kept chipping away, though.  My second try met with success.  Starting August 23, I’ll be living my dream — and working my finger to the bone — at the Dublin Institute of Technology.

Stay tuned to this blog for:

• Tips on applying for a Fulbright
• Stories of my adventures Ireland
• Photographs of “Urban Reflections”
• Findings from my research at the Dublin Institute of Technology

A picture from graduation day 2010 at The College of William and Mary in Virginia.