The Fulbright Program is currently under threat. The Trump administration is cutting funding from USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and as a result, workers are losing their jobs, entire programs such as the Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship have been eliminated, contracts providing essential humanitarian aid across the globe have been canceled, and the future of the Fulbright Program is nebulous. As a Fulbright alumna, I must speak up.
Created in the aftermath of WWII, the Fulbright Program has striven to foster “lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, building mutual understanding between nations, advancing knowledge across communities, and improving lives around the world.” Since 1946, thousands of people like me have had the incredible opportunity to go abroad and have life-changing experiences thanks to the Fulbright Program. Participating in it is, by far, the best decision I have ever made. Going abroad challenges you, educates you, and changes you. By sharing my personal experiences, I hope I can persuade someone to raise their voice against the current administration, to support the Fulbright Program, or to even apply and continue the chain of mutual understanding and learning.
My two years in Germany taught me many valuable lessons, such as the value of relationships. When I first moved to Erlangen, I did not know anybody in the area. I was an ocean away from the support system I had built for the first 22 years of my life, and starting anew in a foreign country was no easy feat. I forged new relationships, both in German and English, with my colleagues, new friends, fellow Fulbrighters, students, roommates, neighbors, the barista at my favorite bookstore, and so much more. Many of these people had backgrounds that were far removed from my lived experiences, so each connection was a learning experience, a window into a new place and perspective. For them, I provided that as well. I still think about them today. If I had stayed in Ohio, these relationships would not have happened. Meeting them also taught me to have greater empathy and open-mindedness, especially for the things I cannot relate to. What is foreign is not invalid and what is different is not a threat. In divided times like these, it is more imperative than ever to preserve the guardrails of community, civility, respect, and manners. Fulbright does just that.
Fulbright also taught me to be humble and listen. Although my main job in Germany was teaching, I did just as much, if not more, learning. While my students learned from me in the classroom, I learned from them, my colleagues, friends, even my surroundings. Additionally, in Germany, being bilingual or multilingual is quite normal. Many of my teenage students were trilingual or multilingual, and the majority of the upperclassmen spoke English more fluently than I spoke German. This did not make me feel embarrassed; rather, it motivated me to continue improving my language skills and to be unashamed when making mistakes, especially because it showed my younger students that if Frau Schneider can learn from her mistakes, so can you.
By placing me in a new environment, Fulbright forced me to recognize the privileges I did not realize I had had. Growing up in Ohio, I never worried about potential land invasions or being attacked by another country. That is a huge privilege that not every child has. Bombs, enemy soldiers, or the possibility of being barred from educational opportunities never entered my mind. Living safely in your homeland, in the place where the people and culture and language and foods and unspoken norms are familiar, is a privilege. To not worry about your nationality or your residence permit or qualifying for a visa because you have birthright citizenship is a privilege. To live surrounded by a support network of friends and family is a privilege. Recognizing areas of privilege and inequality is the first step to addressing them.
Fulbright taught me that the comfort zone is a trap. Fear is meant to protect us, but it can also hinder us from trying new or unfamiliar things. If we only do what is comfortable, we will never venture beyond what has already been tried. Living in another country was scary. Leaving my family and friends behind was scary. Going beyond the comfort zone, even though I was afraid, led to tremendous growth. Cutting the Fulbright Program would be taking away that chance from so many deserving people.
Finally, Fulbright taught me that learning is a lifelong process. Is it not tremendous that there is always more to discover, more to see, more that is unknown? Learning is a wonderful gift. We should be expanding opportunities to learn, not eliminating them.
I encourage you all to continue to support Fulbright. Contact your representatives, donate, post, whatever you can. Thank you.
For more information on the #StandforFulbright campaign, see below:
https://fulbright.org/2025/03/17/standforfulbright-a-smarter-stronger-and-more-prosperous-america/