Tag Archives: Institute of International Education

Bring the world to your home: Share dinner with Fulbright students!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by | 1 comment

Every year foreign Fulbright students from all over the country visit Chicago

EACH YEAR,  the Department of State sponsors Fulbright 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 Chicago Seminar will be held March 8 – 11, 2012. The Home
Hospitality Evening will be on Friday, March 9. We invite you to open
your homes to two or three Fulbrighters for dinner and a short visit.
This unique experience is an integral part of our students’ exposure to US culture.

Please contact Brooke Olsen at 312-254-3205 or chicagoseminar@iie.org
for more information.

Every year, Dr. Ana Gil-García, past president of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association, hosts international Fulbright students at her home in Rogers Park.

You can host as many Fulbright students you want: a unique oppportunity to get to know the world through their experiences.

1 Comment

Posted in Fulbright

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Beautiful architecture on a gorgeous welcoming day

Posted on September 24, 2011 by | 2 comments

SEVENTY TWO PARTICIPANTS among Fulbright students and scholars, alumni association members, an IIE representative and three consular officers enjoyed an educational river cruise that showcased the beautiful Chicago architecture.

The 2011 Fall Welcome event took place last Saturday September 17, starting at 3 pm. when citizens from all over the world met to share this invaluable experience. The day was sunny with a 72 degree temperature. A beautiful fall day that allowed everybody to appreciate clearly the different important buildings that can be seen from the Chicago River.

The Tribune Tower, the Wrigley building, Marina City (a.k.a. the Corncobs,) the massive Merchandise Mart, the Willis Tower (ex-Sears Tower and nowadays the tallest city in the U.S.) were a sample of the over 20 buildings that the tour guide presented. The tour ended at 5 pm. with an informal get-together at a restaurant on the other side of the river, where students and alumni socialized and exchanged stories. Here there are some of the beautiful views: (Photos courtesy of Cristina Sisson and Jackie Spinner)

Tourists waving from the Adams Bridge over the Chicago River.

Fulbright students enjoying the Architectural River Cruise.

A magnificent view of the buildings on the way towards the south branch of the Chicago River.

Board members Kari Burnett, Lauren Ostrowski and Stephen Hill.

A view from the front of the boat.

The Civic Opera Building on the south Branch of the river.

River City (right,) designed by Bertrand Goldberg (he designed Marina City as well) and the Willis Tower (ex-Sears Tower.)

A view towards Lake Michigan, to the east. Notice the Merchandise Mart, Marina City and the Trump Tower, on the right side.

"To the right, to the left, in front of us..." Board member Linda Gruber (left) observes carefully

Fulbright students having a good time after the architectural river cruise.

More conversation and fun at the restaurant after the cruise

What a beautiful day! A great experience to begin the academic year.

2 Comments

Posted in Fulbright

Tagged , , , ,

With “Bringing the World to the Classroom” Initiative Fulbrighters visit CPS schools

Posted on July 25, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Fulbrighter Baqar Sayed from Pakistan talking to Westinghouse College Prep students

“Bringing the World to the Classroom” is a unique outreach program that started in August of 2010. The Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association, in partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Institute of International Education (IIE,) matches Fulbright students with CPS teachers in order to promote the Fulbright program and provide opportunities for authentic cross-cultural exchanges. Fulbrighters foster mutual understanding and respect for world cultures and motivate students to become engaged global citizens.

This past year five high schools, one elementary school and over two hundred students from Chicago area schools took advantage of this program. Board members also presented at four CPS professional development seminars to promote Fulbright programming to teachers. Fulbright students from Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Colombia, Greece, Japan, Bulgaria, among others have participated in this program.

This ongoing program was originally developed by Fulbright Association, Chicago Chapter board members Monica Swope, Cristina Sisson and Lisa Vásquez (now in Washington D.C.) This year, Jason Romano is the new addition to the team.

Fulbrighter Farida Abdulhafizova from Kyrgyzstan sharing her experiences with Northside College Prep High School students

Colombian Fulbrighter Andrés Gómez and his wife, Ana, visited Westinghouse College Prep

Fulbrighter Orestis Omran Koukouvitakis from Greece surrounded by a group of High School students

Fulbrighter Tetsushi Imatomi talking to Ogden High School students and sharing Japanese culture

Leave a comment

Posted in Fulbright

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Sharing a meal with the Fulbright community

Posted on July 24, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Board member Cristina Sisson, right, and three Fulbright students she took to dinner to Irazú, a Costa Rican restaurant in Bucktown, Chicago

On the evening of March 25, 2011, four board members of the Chicago Chapter of the Fulbright Association shared a meal and their time while getting to know Fulbright visitors. Each spring, the Institute of International Education (IIE) organizes the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar which invites dozens of Fulbright fellows studying around the country to Chicago.

The Home Hospitality Dinner is a community-building event in which a Fulbright alum takes a couple or more (sometimes ten!) visiting Fulbright students to dinner, either at home or at a restaurant. Monica Swope, Vice President of our chapter, who took two students this year says, “the Home Hospitality Dinner provides me with the opportunity to meet Fulbrighters in a more informal setting and is always a time well spent and treasured.”

A similar event took place the week after, on April 1, 2011 when a different group of visiting Fulbright scholars and researchers were invited by four chapter members to share a meal. They opened their homes to host groups of Fulbrighters who were coming from different academic institutions across the U.S.

Leave a comment

Posted in Fulbright

Tagged , , , , ,

$5,000 Prize for Project with Greatest Impact in Promoting Mutual Understanding

Posted on February 14, 2011 by | 1 comment

The Institute of International Education (IIE) is Now Accepting Applications for the IIE New Leaders Group Award for Mutual Understanding.

In 2005, the Institute of International Education (IIE) New Leaders Group created the IIE New Leaders Group Award for Mutual Understanding to recognize the outstanding work of one recent or current Fulbright grantee who actively promotes mutual understanding between the United States and another country. The individual whose work is judged to have the most impact will receive a $5,000 Award to continue the project. The IIE New Leaders Group will select the winner. The project being recognized must be an ongoing activity that is currently underway; it cannot be a proposal for a project to be done in the future. The Award can be for work in any field. The intent of this Award is to recognize some of the best and the brightest young professionals and to encourage them to contribute and further promote their innovative ideas, valuable knowledge and dedication to the cause of mutual understanding with the $5,000 Award. More information about the IIE New Leaders Group can be found at: www.iie.org/NewLeadersGroup

Application Deadline: March 7, 2011

1 Comment

Posted in Fulbright

Tagged , , ,