As we celebrate a year of transformative exchanges, we invite you to hear directly from our 2023-2024 Greek and U.S. grantees. Their reflections highlight the profound personal and professional growth made possible by the Fulbright experience, as well as the enduring impact of cross-cultural collaboration.
"Since my return to Greece, I have been often asked about my Fulbright experience. To summarise the immense impact of this unique opportunity in just a few words is not easy. Yet there is one word that says it all: B.I.G.!! Really enormous because it stands out as a profoundly meaningful moment in the timeline of my long career as a museologist and academic. But also B.I.G. as an acronym of three pivotal key-words, as an idea and value: Belonging, Inspiration, Gratitude."
Marlen Mouliou, Fulbright Visiting Scholar 2023-2024 to Department of Performance Studies, New York University, New York, NY
"The skills gained the next six months, coupled with the networks established, undoubtedly played a pivotal role in shaping my professional trajectory. [...] I hope that more young researchers will learn about the opportunities and support that Fulbright Greece offers. For me, Fulbright is far more than just a scholarship, it represents an ideal that brings people together and fosters personal growth and cross-cultural understanding."
Maria Tsakiri, Fulbright Visiting Research Student 2023-2024 to Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
"My participation in the Fulbright Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) program was a truly transformative experience, offering invaluable insights into the country's educational, cultural, and political systems. Visits to schools and universities highlighted the critical role of leadership in education, where autonomous decision-making and the implementation of innovative practices, play a defining role. The strong partnerships I developed with fellow scholars from around the world amplify the program's multiplier effect, offering new opportunities for collaboration and growth."
Antonios Krimitzas, Fulbright Secondary Educator 2024-2025 to the Study of the United States Administrators’ Institute, California State University, Chico, CA
"My Fulbright scholarship allowed me to co-develop highly innovative zero-power materials and circuits that operate at the speed of light, promoting a strong Greek-U.S. collaboration that bears promises to radically change the Information and Communication Sector. I also witnessed an educational system of inclusiveness and distinctive equity with equal opportunities for all, clear testimony of a fully functional democratic political system. Fulbright has been a truly unique transformative cultural and academic experience."
Christos Vagionas, Fulbright Visiting Scholar 2023-2024 to the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
“With a few months remaining in my program, my focus now points westward, and again to what my νόστος may hold. I confess, though, that I feel my home now is not in one hemisphere or the other. My homecoming is also my homegoing equally in each direction. As for myself, I am changed, and yet the same: still ambitious, still passionate, still curious. I look forward to taking the spirit of this city with me in my teaching career: to be both learner and learned, to tread along timeless paths and trailblaze, to see at once the journey and each terminus. May Athens and all its complexities continue to elude and inspire me long after I have left.”
Melissa Ballow, English Teaching Assistant Program 2023-2024 to Athens College, Secondary Education English, Creative Writing, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
“Through this journey, I have discovered more about myself than I thought possible and have expanded my comfort zone to connect with large groups of international people. When I am not in the research lab, I am typically exploring the nature of the island or sitting in a taverna with friends listening to traditional music and enjoying the good food. To have a successful Fulbright journey, I think it is important to enter with an open-mind that is eager to learn. To not only learn about your project, but to learn about the culture, people, and land around you. The Fulbright journey may seem short, but I know will forever change my life and has opened many doors for me in the future, and it has also helped me learn about myself so that I may decide which door I want to walk through.”
Avery Hurst, U.S. Fulbright Student Program 2023-2024 to University of Crete Medical School, Nutrition, Purdue University-Main Campus, West Lafayette, IN
Read more from our Greek and U.S. alumni.
Photo Credit: Tim Mossholder for Unsplash