Tag Archives: Ana Gil-García

Frank Lloyd Wright and the Chicago Facts Scavenger Hunt at Unity Temple

Posted on October 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Fulbright students gathered outside the main Unity Temple area prior to the beginning of the event

By Cristina Sisson  — VISITING FULBRIGHT STUDENTS and scholars joined Fulbright alumni members on Saturday, September 29th, 2012 from 11:30 am. -2 pm. for the annual Fall Welcome, the first event of the new academic year.

Linda Gruber and Ana Gil-García met at Unity Temple after Dr. Gil-García’s return from teaching in Egypt.

A packed room of over eighty guests shared lunch together at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity House, the secular social space of Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois. After a welcome by our chapter president, Elio Leturia, visiting Fulbrighters competed in a Chicago fact scavenger hunt that included questions about the Chicago Fire, local museums, and cultural questions such as “What are the toppings on a traditional Chicago hot dog?”  board member Jason Romano led the scavenger hunt and joked that teams received one point for listing “mustard” and lost five if they included ketchup.  Halloween prizes were awarded to the top three teams.

While explaining how Frank Lloyd Wright directed Unity Temple’s construction, our tour guide said the whole structure was made using concrete.

The fun welcome to the city continued as guests enjoyed an informative and engaging tour Unity Temple.  The foundation’s docent chronicled the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright on architecture in Chicago and around the world. Many Fulbrighters took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and walked together to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio, historical homes, and other museums in the area such as Ernest Hemingway’s Home.

It was a perfect setting to catch up with Fulbright alumni and meet new students studying in Chicago.

Fulbright students worked together on the Chicago Scavenger Hunt right after the luncheon and before the architectural tour.

Photos by Thomas Ahleman

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First round of books arrive to Egypt

Posted on June 19, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Dr. Gil-García met with Dr. Penn and some of his students during the donation of 45 books for Menoufia university.

DR. EVERETTE PENN, A MEMBER of the national board of the Fulbright Association, traveled to Cairo earlier this month with a group of students from Texas, and brought 45 English literature books to donate to Menoufia University, a public higher education institution in Egypt.

Dr. Ana Gil-García, leading the Fulbright Chicago Chapter book project, will be delivering Dr. Penn’ s books to Menoufia University along with 110 books she collected from Northeastern Illinois University faculty during her most recent visit to Chicago last week.

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Book donation for Menoufia University in Egypt

Posted on May 21, 2012 by | Leave a comment

During her year in Egypt, Dr. Ana Gil-García, who is currently teaching at American University in Cairo, has conducted workshops and delivered presentations to several institutions. Here, working with a group of fellows at Menoufia University, two hours away from Cairo.

AS PART OF OUR ONGOING Book Initiative Donation Program, Dr. Ana Gil-García is currently working in Egypt, more specifically, with Menoufia University.

Along with Dr. Osama Madany, chairperson of the Department of English Literature and Language, and a fellow Fulbrighter, we are asking you to donate a book to provide his department with needed materials in the following areas:

1. American Literature (Fiction, Drama, Poetry) from 18th C. to present day.
2. British Literature (Fiction, Drama, Poetry) from 16th C. to present day. 
3. American and British Literary Criticism to present day.
4. American and British Culture/Civilization to present day.
5. Essay Writing
6. Linguistics / Applied Linguistics
7. Grammar
8. English Language Courses (TEFL, TESOL, TOEFL)
9. Audio/Visual material related to above fields.
10. English as a Second Language
11. Educational leadership
12. Bilingual-bicultural education
13. Multicultural education
 

Dr. Gil-García will be in Chicago for a week, June 6 -13. If you could donate any new or used book on those areas will be greatly appreciated. Dr. Gil-García will take the books to the Department of English Literature and Language of Menoufia University in Egypt.

Please, contact us at fulbrightChicago@gmail.com to schedule a pick up of your donation.

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News from Egypt: Dr. Ana Gil-García delivered a presentation and a workshop

Posted on May 14, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Chicago Chapter board member Dr. Ana Gil García, currently teaching at American University in Cairo, presents at Menoufia University

IN MARCH 2012, Elio Leturia, president of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association visited the Binational Fulbright Commission in Egypt to meet with the leaders of the Fulbright Alumni Circles of Teachers and Humanities and to talk about potential collaborations and support between the chapter and the Egypt Fulbright alumni.

Dr. Ana Gil-García

As a result of this visit, Dr. Ana Gil-García, board member currently living and teaching in Egypt, delivered a talk titled “The meaning of professional development of English as a Foreign Language teachers” on April 21, 2012 at Menoufia University organized by Dr. Osama Madany, Fulbright Leader of the Humanities Circle, and Chair of the Department of English Language and Literature of the Faculty of Arts. The forum was sponsored by the US American Embassy in Egypt.

Dr. Ana Gil-Garcia and the Fulbright Alumni Teacher’s Circle in Cairo, Egypt

Part of the interactive workshop that Dr. Gil-Garcia delivered on April 28

A week later on Saturday April 28, supported by the Binational Fulbright Commission and organized by the Fulbright Alumni Teachers’ Circle, Ana Gi-García delivered an interactive workshop titled “Leadership and Research: The triumphant recipe for school improvement”. Both activities were well attended and the work of the Chicago Chapter was praised and complimented.

At the same meeting with Leturia, the fellow Fulbrighter, Dr. Osama Madany presented the library project for the Department of English Language and Literature. Menoufia University, a public institution with an enrollment of 70,000 students, lacks of a library to support the academic instruction of the student body and faculty members. Especially, there is a lack of books, journals, bibliographic references in general related to the field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, EFL.

Through different Chicago universities and faculty, the Chicago Chapter through its Book Initiative Program, agreed on a book drive to collect specialized books to be donated to the Department of English language and Literature of Menoufia University.

Dr. Everette Penn

Dr. Everette Penn, Fulbright National Board member and Chair of the Diversity Task Force, has congratulated the chapter for this unique effort. He has expressed interest in participating in the book drive, and on his next visit to Cairo from June 02-12, 2012, will bring the first donation for the EFL library, co-project undertaken by the Fulbright Alumni Circle of Humanities in Egypt and the Chicago Chapter.

Once more, the Fulbright Alumni of the Chicago Chapter engage in experiences that advance international understanding through volunteer service to communities.

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Visit to Cairo, Egypt: Binational Fulbright Commission and The American University in Cairo

Posted on April 11, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Left to right: Dr. Abdel Moneim, Elio Leturia, Dr. Ana Gil-García, Sahar Ramadan, Ahmed Salama and Safaa M. Abbadi at the Fulbright Commission in Cairo.

DURING A RECENT VISIT to Cairo, Egypt, Fulbright Association Chicago Chapter President Elio Leturia met with board member Dr. Ana-Gil García, who is currently teaching at The American University in Cairo. They visited the  Binational Fulbright Commission, the oldest and largest program in the Arab world, to talk about our Book Donation Initiative to Egyptian universities.

They were welcomed by Dr. Bruce Lohof, Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in Cairo, and then met with Safaa M. Abbadi, manager of Alumni Affairs and Special Projects.

Elio Leturia, President of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association and board member and past president, Dr. Ana Gil-García

Part of the discussion revolved around how to optimize alumni communications. In Egypt, the alumni are organized in what they call “Circles” according to their areas of expertise. At this meeting, that took place on March 26, 2012, participated Ahmed Salama, FLTA alumnus and leader of the Teachers’ Circle for 2012; Sahar Ramadan, FLTA alumna and active member of the Teachers’ Circle and Dr. Abdel Moneim, Professor at the Department of English of Menoufia University. We also had Dr. Ossama Madany, Chairman of the English Language Department at Menoufia University, who joined the discussion, via Skype.

The book donation will be, at this time, to Menoufia University. This institution is one of the largest universities in Egypt, which has two campuses: Shibim El Kom, located 47 miles from Cairo and Sadat City, 60 miles from Cairo.

Dr. Gil-García's International and Comparative Education graduate students with Elio Leturia after a presentation at American University in Cairo

During this visit, Dr. Ana Gil-García invited Elio Leturia to present in one of the classes she teaches at the graduate program of International and Comparative Education at The American University in Cairo. In his presentation, Leturia, a native Peruvian who teaches at Columbia College Chicago, did a comparative analysis on the educational systems in Peru and the United States.

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This is certainly a small, small world

Posted on August 26, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Lifetime member and Columbia College Chicago journalism professor Dr. Norma Fay Green (right) with Dr. Azia Idrissi Kobaiti in Fes, Morocco, during her Fulbright-Hays Seminar this summer

While traveling on a six-week  Fulbright-Hays Seminar Abroad to study religious diversity in North Africa’s Maghreb (Morocco & Tunisia) in Summer 2011, an opportunity recommended by Chicago Fulbright Past President Ana Gil-García, Fulbright Association lifetime member and Columbia College Chicago Journalism Professor Dr. Norma Green met  in Fes with Dr. Azia Idrissi Kobaiti from the Department of Islamic Studies at Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, who lectured the seminar participants on Moroccan Sufism. Dr. Kobaiti will be on a Fulbright at Loyola University Chicago this year.

In 2010, Dr. Green was recognized at the Dee Sarelas Service Award ceremony for her commitment and support to the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association.

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An educational partnership with Northeastern Illinois University

Posted on July 25, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Elio Leturia, president of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association, moderating a panel on International Education Leadership at Northeastern Illinois University

Along with Chicago Public Schools, Pearson Education, Advisory Council on Latino Affairs of the City of Chicago and Northeastern Illinois University Department of Education Leadership, our Chicago Chapter was a sponsor of the Educational Leadership Summit II at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago.

The academic summit, that congregated over 120 educators, took place on an all-day event on June 27, 2011.

Dr. Ana Gil-García, a tenured professor at Northeastern University and Director of Membership of the Fulbright Association, Chicago Chapter, was the main organizer of the event.

A panel session on International Educational Leadership formed by three Fulbright students, Tairou Goura from Togo, Yommon Tschinsala from Chad and Mateus Yumamanto from Indonesia, along with Dr. Alonso Villarán (also a chapter board member) from Peru, presented on the educational systems in their countries of origin. Elio Leturia, president of the Chicago Chapter a Columbia College Chicago professor moderated the panel, which provoked a fluid participation from the audience due to its international approach.

The participants who attended the summit were asked to donate a bilingual book as part of the Chapter’s International Book Partnership Initiative.  This project, already established, aims to deliver bilingual books to other countries in partnership with the different Fulbright offices around the globe.

The Fulbright team at the Northeastern Illinois University Educational Leadership Summit II: Elio Leturia, Yommon Tschinsala, Chad; Tairou Goura, Togo; Mateus Yumamanto, Indonesia; Dr. Ana Gil-García and Dr. Alonso Villarán

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Theater with Passion

Posted on July 25, 2011 by | Leave a comment

After the "La Pasión Según Antígona Pérez" theater performance, from left to right, Elio Leturia, Ana Gil-García, Javier Ruiz-Tagle, Leslie Parragüez, Vínicius Miranda Bragança and Márton Siklós.

On April 15, 2011, five Fulbright students and board member Dr. Ana Gil-García were invited to “La Pasión según Antígona Pérez,” (The Passion According to Antigone Perez) theater play.  Performed by Aguijón Theater, the play written by Puerto Rican author Luis Rafael Sánchez, is inspired by the original Sophocles Greek version of “Antigone.”

Taking place in a dictatorship in a Latin American country, the play directed by Marcela Muñoz, situates the performance in an impressive setting (newspaper front pages) that represents the control of the media by the dictator, Creón Molina.

Our Chicago Chapter Fulbright Association President Elio Leturia invited the group. In addition to being a college professor at Columbia College Chicago, Leturia is also an active actor in this theater organization.  With 22 years of existence, Aguijón Theater is the oldest continuously operating theater company in Spanish in Chicago.

Raúl Romero as the Generalísimo Creón Molina and Elio Leturia as Monseñor Bernardo Escudero in a scene from "La Pasíon Según Antígona Pérez" by Aguijón Theater.

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International Women’s Day and Fair at the Union League Club of Chicago

Posted on March 18, 2011 by | 1 comment

Dr. Joaquín Villegas, Monica Swope, Maria Petrova, Dr. Ana Gil-García, Kay McSpadden, Don Garner, Julie Oh and Ceyda Aykan

The Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association participated in partnership with World Chicago in the celebration of the International Women’s Day that took place at the Union League Club of Chicago on March 7, 2011.

Board member Dr. Ana Gil-García and Elio Leturia, Fulbright Association, Chicago Chapter president

Our chapter also participated in the fair that started in the morning. During this time, board members had the opportunity to promote Fulbright and our chapter and distribute information about our activities and the Fulbright programs.  The fair was followed by a luncheon where keynote speaker Deborah L. DeHaas, gave a preentation “The Business Case for Diversity: Why Developing Women Leaders is Imperative to the Success of Global Companies” in which she discussed the important role of women in the corporate world and the efforts that are being made to offer them equal of opportunities.

Dr. Erika Cook, Maria Petrova, Monica Swope, Julie Oh, Ceyda Aykan and Kay McSpadden after the luncheon at the Union League Club of Chicago

Three current Fulbright students accepted our invitation to participate in the event. Ceyda Aykan, from Turkey, studies painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, Maria Petrova from Russia, who specializes in American Literature at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Julie Oh from Canada, who is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Photography at the Art Institute of Chicago.

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Knock, knock. Bring the world to your home

Posted on January 29, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Dr. Ana Gil García, board member of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association welcomes every year 10 students from different countries of the world for a dinner in her home during the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar.

Each year, the State Department sponsorsFulbright Enrichment Seminars throughout the country. The IIE (Institute of International Education) Midwest Regional Center organizes the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar in Chicago and brings over 140 first-year Foreign Fulbright students from around the world together to spend four days in the City.

The Seminar will be held March 24 – 27, 2011.The Home Hospitality Evening will be on Friday, March, 25, 2011. We invite you to open your homes to two or three Fulbrighters for dinner and a short visit. This wonderful experience is a highlight for our students as they are eager to better acquaint themselves with their host culture in the U.S.

Contact Joseph P. Graff at 312-254-3207 or jgraff@iie.org for more information.

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