“Interdisciplinary” is a word that was consistently used to promote, describe, influence, and guide the doctoral program at Marywood University, Scranton, PA. Until I had completed the first few semesters toward my degree, I didn’t fully appreciate the interdisciplinary approach or the benefits of its purpose. Today, I not only understand the rationale behind the […]
Category: Americans in the EU
My Fulbright-Schuman research project examines the labor market integration of refugees in select EU Member States. Broadly, my study looks at how private enterprise works with government agencies in facilitating refugees’ job readiness and labor market integration, whether through the direct hiring of refugees or through policy development (e.g., through influencing the development of vocational […]
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One Less Stranger
Before Fulbright, I avoided long conversations with strangers. I made this choice most consciously on airplanes. After taking my seat, a slight dread often filled me that I a stranger would feel the need to share their thoughts on something like the taste difference between red and white quinoa. I would imagine this hyperbolic scenario […]
As my Fulbright comes to an end, I look back at the past nine months of my life abroad with mixed feelings of nostalgia, astonishment and pride at what I have accomplished. My photos and memories of living in Toulouse, traveling to Germany, Spain and Belgium, driving through the Lower Pyrenees, and consuming more than […]
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State of the European Union
The scene outside in the spring Tuscan sun was pure Brussels: black limousines, heavy security, expensive black suits. Inside, in the Salone dei Cinquecento of Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio, it was pure Italian Renaissance: a glorious ceiling of 39 panels painted by Giorgio Vasari, statues by Michelangelo and Bandinelli, and banks of flowers. But the message […]
In late March 2017, United Nations (UN) peacekeepers found the bodies of three UN personnel who were tragically killed in Kasai Central Province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Swedish national Zaida Catalan, American Michael Sharp, and their Congolese translator, Betu Tshintela. The three were part of the UN expert panel investigating conflict and […]
Volunteering has always been and will always be a critical part of my life. Over the years, I’ve discovered that despite my best efforts, painting murals at elementary schools and cleaning dishes at soup kitchens are not my strong suits when it comes to volunteering. My real passion and dare I say strength lies in […]
On January 9, I left a very sunny Jamaica to voluntarily fly to Helsinki, Finland. I arrived in Helsinki at -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit), just in time for two feet of fresh snow to be dumped on my doorstep that night. Hailing from Philadelphia, I can manage snow, but -20 degrees and only […]
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How to Have Super Powers
To everyone I have met who has asked, What is it like being a Fulbright-Schuman Scholar?, I have answered this way—it’s like having Super Powers. It’s an incredible feeling that is life changing. The Super Powers are intoxicating, and I feel these powers in my very core right now. It is everything you are while […]