The Fulbright Association’s (FA) 42nd Annual Conference was held October 24-26, 2019 in Arlington, VA. FA is the national alumni association of U.S. based Fulbrighters.
I generally the conferences that are held in the U.S. FA tends to alternate between DC-based and overseas annual conferences. Next year’s conference will be in Taipei, Taiwan.
The conference agenda was packed with sessions on research, networking and various awards and special events. The Lifetime Achievement Awards were given on October 26, with the winners being Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, reporter Melissa Block, and architect James Polshek. The Selma Jeanne Cohen Dance Lecture featured Roman Baca.
A highlight was attending a reception on Thursday, October 24 at the Polish Ambassador’s Residence.
I attended sessions on public diplomacy, the work of the Fulbright community, and research roundtables. I had the chance to connect with colleagues that I see only at this conference. On Sunday, October 27, as a member of the NCAC Fulbright board, I attended the chapter leadership workshop which was designed to support FA’s over 50 U.S. chapters.
I presented twice. The first was a Career Counseling Session with Nada Glick and Sherry Mueller. I wrote about it in the most recent Fulbright Edge. We had about 20 younger Fulbright grantees starting their careers! I’ve also attached the Powerpoint that I used in the session.
I also participated in the the research roundtables. My session was titled “Leveraging Your Fulbright Experience to Advance Your Career.” I wrote about the advice I offered here. I was also part of a resume review session.
The conference provided a great chance to network with fellow Fulbrighters and those who support international experiences and education.
David J. Smith Consulting, LLC 