After I finished the Fulbright grant, I received a "Toolkit" for how to share my experiences.  Using this set of resources along with the Citizen Diplomacy Challenge, I've been motivated to talk about not only my experiences with Fulbright but also other opportunities for international exchange that the State Department offers.

I contacted the career development offices of the local colleges - Hope College and Calvin College - and arranged to give a 45 minute presentation with 15 minutes for questions.  The colleges advertised the event online, through email and with posters around campus.  Meanwhile, I worked on a PowerPoint and handouts and ended up titling my talk, "Opportunity Knocks...From Abroad: An introduction to fully-funded international experiences and how to pursue them." (See below).

Though I was a bit nervous, I was also very excited and the presentations went great! At Hope College I had about fifteen people including some interested faculty and staff.  At Calvin College, the room filled up so fast that it was standing room only and students were sitting on the floor. I was impressed by the number and the depth of the questions - many of which I didn't know the answer to and had to get back to the students.  But what has been especially cool is following up with students via email afterwards.  I gave out my contact information and have received quite a few longer, more detailed questions in writing which I am happy to answer.  I'm so excited to see where some of these students end up and am happy that I could have had a small part in the process.  Citizen Diplomacy for the win!

1 Comment

1. Linde on June 13, 2015 at 11:36 AM

   Sarah, very impressive summary and I'm sure you were very inspirational!