Above 63

To be honest, this was a deeply humbling award. As it approaches, I am excited about the possibilities.  I’m grateful to the Fulbright Iceland Commission and the US Fulbright Program.  One of the questions that friends and colleagues have asked me is:  how did you get this award? 

The answer is simple, I completed the application, but I had help. I did put a lot of time into the writing up the project and the essays. I went to a number of the helpful webinars put out by the Fulbright program last year.  They helped me understand the program and how I was a fit for an award.  They also helped me understand how to craft my proposal and application essays, so they highlighted my strengths in relationship to the program itself. 

The one area where they were no help was “what country to pick.”  If you know me, you know that I love to travel and this was a hard decision.  I chose to apply to Iceland because I had visited twice as a tourist.  I know from past sabbaticals to Arizona and Florida that vacationing in an area and living there for an extended time are two different things.  I wanted to have a deeper experience with Iceland.

The application itself required some deep self-reflection and solid research on the work proposal.  I worked on it off and on through the spring of 2023 and finished it in late summer.  All the parts required several drafts as well as reading for consistency and tone.  I’ve re-read it this spring as I get ready to leave in August and I have a good road map in front of me.

I mentioned being humbled by the award.  I had expected to be turned down and given feedback on improving my application for next year.  That isn’t false modesty or a sense of inadequacy, rather a recognition of the quality of applicants and quality of my fellow Fulbrighters in Iceland this year.  I’m looking forward to meeting them and spending time with them as well.  I have been excited and raring to go since I heard the news in February.