U.S. Fulbright Applicant
Newsletter

Working With Your Fulbright Program Adviser

Students who are currently enrolled in a U.S. college or university with a campus Fulbright Program Adviser (FPA) are required to submit their applications through that individual. The name and contact information for your FPA can be found on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program website. Go to www.fulbrightonline.org/us and follow the prompts for “currently enrolled students.” All applicants are required to apply online.

If an FPA is not listed, you would apply as an at-large candidate from your U.S. state of permanent residence and contact U.S. Student Programs at IIE for guidance and answers to your questions.

It is important that you contact your FPA as soon as possible to find out the campus deadline date for applications. If you have already graduated, you may be able to apply through your alma mater. This is at the discretion of the FPA. Contact the FPA and ask if he or she works with alumni. FPAs are not obligated to work with alumni, but will often do so.

Your FPA will also give you information on the campus interview schedule. All students applying through their campus FPA will have a campus committee interview prior to the application being submitted to IIE. The interview is an important part of the application process as faculty from your school will provide feedback on your application.

Your FPA does not have access to your application while it is being developed. It is important, however, that you complete the basic information requests, including your name; country of application; field of study; college or university information and the name of your FPA as soon as possible. In doing so, your FPA will know that your application is in progress.

While the content and presentation of the entire application is important, your FPA will be most interested in reviewing your two essays: The Statement of Proposed Study or Research and the Personal Statement. For both of these essays, you should refer to the “Tips for Completing an Application” section on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program website where you will find important advice on content and style. You should share your essays with your FPA who will be interested in working with you as you construct and refine them. First drafts may be requested. The essays should be created off-line as word documents and then sent electronically or in hard copy to your FPA for review. Once you are completely satisfied with their content, you can then upload them into the online application system.

The individuals you have selected to complete your foreign language evaluation and three letters of recommendations will also be of interest to your FPA. You and your FPA should discuss who you have selected to complete them and the reasons why these individuals can best support you and your project.

One official copy of your complete academic record is also required and you should coordinate with your FPA on the submission of your transcript(s).

You and your FPA will decide the best time to submit your application electronically. Only after you have electronically submitted your application, will your FPA be able to view it.

Finally, in addition to completing and submitting the application electronically you are also responsible for printing a final hard copy of the application, signing it and delivering it along with hard copies of all your support documents to your FPA by the campus deadline. Follow the online instructions for printing the final PDF version of the application and use the “Application Inspector” to make sure your application is complete.

The River of Life

Coming to New Zealand was like stepping into my own personal time machine.

J. Scott Parker on location in the upper Waimakariri River Valley

It was the first time that I have had to find my own flat, the first time I have had to buy my own car and the first time that I have worked on a twenty-minute film that is all my own design. In the process of doing these things, I have made many mistakes. Many, many mistakes. But, I have also learned more than I could have possibly imagined before I came here and experienced the intensity of the autonomous filmmaker’s lifestyle. 

In planning a Fulbright proposal you create a plan for a research project, but once you arrive in country you recreate that project to fit the reality of your situation. In my case, this meant rewriting the script as a function of the people I’ve met and focusing on just one river, the Waimakariri. My script no longer says, “Interview with fishermen and kayakers.” It now says, “Excerpt from Andy’s interview,” or “shot of Bealey Bridge.” Meeting individuals whose stories replace the more generalized preconceptions that I arrived with has been the most pleasant and interesting part of the process. 

Talking with Andy Holland, a lifelong resident of Canterbury and an avid river enthusiast, has been one of my favorite experiences so far. His profound love for the river is evident in every syllable as he describes the summer afternoons of his childhood spent paddling an old rowboat down to McIntosh Hole to fish for salmon with his brother. His stories are as much a part of what makes the Waimakariri unique as are the wrybill plovers, galaxids and diving spiders that are hallmarks of its distinct ecology.  

Originally, I thought of the ecology and the human activities on the river as separate entities that influenced one another, but now I see that people like Andy Holland are part of the ecology. If there were no river, Andy would not be the person that he is. Along with the delight I have felt when talking to people like Andy, there have also been many moments of frustration and uncertainty in the filmmaking process. 

In mid-May, I was driving down by the river looking for places to shoot footage of invasive plants, such as gorse. I came to a side stream that crossed the road. I looked at it for a few moments and thought to myself, “I can cross that.” Halfway through I discovered that I could not, in fact, make it across. After several fruitless attempts to push the car to a spot with better traction and a few expulsions of expletives not fit for print, I called the tow company. It was to be a two-hour wait and a $185.00 charge.  

While waiting for the tow driver to call for my exact location, I walked back the way I’d come. Up on a hillside, I heard the faint sound of an engine, and I decided to see if I could find help that wouldn’t leave me broke. I climbed through twenty vertical meters of gorse and brambles and found a paddock belonging to a kind farmer named Allen Shedbolt. He readily drove his four-wheel drive down to the riverside and pulled my Toyota Corona out of the gently flowing stream.  

Driving into the stream was a mistake, but I am glad that I was willing to try it. Who knows what cool shot I might have found in that next stretch of riverbed? In the past, I feel that I have too often taken the peril-free route. Sometimes the only way to grow is to try something, fail and evaluate what might have worked better.

J. Scott Parker (right) with University of Canterbury video technician Dave Covich

Another risk of undertaking an intense research project such as my river film is that you can easily lose touch with the level of common knowledge about your subject. Nearly everyone that I talk to in interviews knows a great deal about braided rivers. With so much knowledge floating about, it is easy to wonder whether the film needs to be made at all. “Am I saying anything people don’t already know?” I sometimes ask myself.  

However, a new resolve comes to me when I see that my work will be of benefit to someone, as was the case at a recent event in which I participated. I am a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society and have involved myself in the local chapter of this organization at the University of Canterbury.  

We held a youth forum about community sustainability during the mid-year break in early July. High school students from across the South Island came to hear lectures about diverse topics ranging from the evolution of cultural identity to the global increase in demand for water. After the lectures, the students divided into smaller groups for discussions facilitated by Golden Key members.  

In my group, we discussed the challenges of managing water resources. These particular students were from Christchurch, but they had never heard of an aquifer before. This surprised me because the use of water from these underground reservoirs and from the braided rivers that feed them is one of the most contentious ecological issues in the Canterbury region.  

I was able to supplement the lecture with information gathered during my own research. Sharing this information helped me to see the value of my own project more clearly. Not only is my Fulbright project personally enriching, it will give the issues associated with braided rivers valuable exposure in the public eye.  

First Podcast is uploaded

The first Fulbright U.S. Student Program podcast is now available on the Fulbright homepage.  The co-hosts of the podcast are Valerie Hymas, Program Manager for Europe and Eurasia, and Tony Claudino, Director, Fulbright Student Outreach.  The podcasts provide advice and guidance to candidates interested in applying to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.  The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships to U.S. recent bachelor’s graduates, masters and doctoral students, young professionals and artists for study and research abroad.  The Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Program (ETA), an element of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, is designed to improve foreign students' English language abilities and knowledge of the United States, while affording U.S. students an invaluable cultural exchange experience.  English Teaching Assistants may also pursue individual study/research plans in addition to their teaching responsibilities. 

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government.