Tag / Fulbright

by shannonchance

Standing on Shoulders

In the States, we tend to overemphasize individual merit.  While there’s something to be said for pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, you never actually do that all alone.  There are always others there providing ideas, support, and know-how.

Surrounding yourself with good role models is key to achieving big things.  You need to hang around people who are curious, passionate, and driven to make a difference.  They help you see what’s possible and how to achieve it.

One my best role models is my mom, Dr. Cynthia Mara, who recently completed her own Fulbright to Canada.  A Fulbright representative actually recruited her for that position because the US needed to send someone with mom’s expertise.  While in Canada, she researched health care and interviewed people about how well their single-payer system works. There’s a photo of mom below.

Another of my role models is Dr. Pamela Eddy, a professor of higher education at The College of William and Mary. She joined W&M in 2009, at the same time she was a Fulbright to Ireland.  Her success reminded me of the goals I’d set for working in Ireland.

They both gave ideas and encouragement, helping me hone my Fulbright proposal and connect to important people.  I am grateful to have their shoulders to stand on.

Mom and me at the photo exhibition “Exposed” at the Meyer Gallery in Norfolk, Virginia.

by shannonchance

Roadmap to Ireland

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.