My Supervisor Made My Stay an Amazing Experienceby IIE Staff
When one has a
cooperative supervisor, the assistantship year
ends up like a setting sun, and it vanishes before
one is aware of it. When I first heard of Fisk, I
did not know what to expect, as I had never heard
of it before. It was only after signing Fulbright
terms that I started to search some online
information about it. The internet, however, did
not answer all the questions I had in mind about
my new placement until I got in touch with my
supervisor. The very first E-mail she wrote told
me what kind of person I was going to spend my
academic year abroad with. She seemed to be ready
with answers to all of my questions, and she was
never tired or late to respond to any E-mail I
wrote. Already, this gave me a positive impression
of the program I had embarked on. I could not wait
to meet this wonderful person. When my flight landed at
Nashville International Airport, I was among the
first passengers to get out; I was so curious to
see who was there to meet me. Occasionally a
thought came from the back of my mind like,
“What if nobody is there to meet me?”,
“Where should I go!”, “Who
should I ask for assistance?”, and
“Will they understand me?” But when I
thought of the letters we wrote each other, my
confidence was renewed, for my supervisor had to
be there to meet me. Just as I
checked out from the airport, I saw two people, a
man and a woman, smiling at me. When I looked
clearly, the woman had a sign with my name on it.
I was very happy that I did not have to look for
my host - she was there! I smiled back, and we
exchanged greetings and introduction. I learned
that the man was a member of a department which my
supervisor chairs. Their warmth made me forget my
fatigue after 25 hours of flight. They were both
charming and had wonderful stories to tell as we
drove to my apartment. It was already night, and I
was a little hungry. But because of my excitement,
I didn’t feel hungry at all. I
learned later that my supervisor had spent hours
on the internet trying to find out a recipe for
Tanzanian food. I still remember the very
delicious bread she baked for me and the grapes in
the refrigerator. I asked myself how she
discovered that grapes were my favorite fruit. I
also learned later that she had made it her
mission to make sure the apartment was well
furnished. It even had food and everything as I
arrived! This marked the beginning of
a wonderful experience in my life. As the
supervisor was always by my side trying to help me
cope up with my new experience away from home, I
was introduced to different faculty members and
administrators. To me, she has always been like a
mother and not just an academic supervisor. As a
matter of fact, she calls me her Tanzanian son,
and I call her my American mother. She has taken
the trouble to write my family in Tanzania and
send them photos she took of me in my office, in
my classes, and with some important people at
Fisk, including the provost. As Fisk’s
first Fulbright scholar, it was a personal
challenge for me to establish a professional
standard to make sure I meet the
institution’s expectations in me. I was
challenged to work hard and prove that Fulbright
had picked me for a purpose. The support and honor
I got from Fisk University’s administration,
my students, fellow faculty members, and my other
friends helped me accomplish my mission
successfully. I was honored on many
occasions. It is hard to name them all, but I must
talk about the dinner I had with the University
Board of Trustees. It was one of greatest honors
of my life to sit in a room with such important
people as the University President who introduced
me to board members. My supervisor had some very
good things to say about me, and this, indeed,
made me feel honored and highly
appreciated. Another occasion that I must
write about was when the Ambassador of Tanzania in
the U.S. visited me. As a cultural ambassador,
this was an excellent avenue for me to share my
culture with the university administration but
also before a very important person of my country.
It was, indeed, a great privilege to introduce the
ambassador. To honor him, my students presented
some Swahili poetry and songs that I had written
to commemorate 45 years of my country’s
independence. It was on this occasion
that I learned how genuine my students were when
they told me they appreciated what I had taught
them. Students from my class, in collaboration
with African Students Association, presented me
with a wonderful gift as a token of their
appreciation. It was a beautiful, golden
embroidered hat that fitted perfectly on my head.
This was another indication that my goal of
excelling in this program was being successfully
achieved. As a requirement of the Fulbright
program I had to enroll in two classes per
semester. I, therefore, enrolled in a
beginners’ French class and Rhetoric and
public address. Both classes were good, but I am
compelled to write a little bit about my French
professor. She is a talented woman who is devoted
to what she is doing. I was impressed by her
ability to handle her class, and I was also
impressed by the methods she used to introduce new
language structures. When I entered her class for
the first time, I considered changing my mind
after the students had introduced themselves
easily. I realized that all students in the class
had some previous years of learning French, and
unfortunately, I was the only one with no
experience in French. However, she said with
confidence that I was at the right place.
When she introduced the lesson for the
first time, I was confident again that I was in
the right class with the right professor.
Gradually, I started to pick up some phrases, and
the class turned out to be a wonderful learning
experience. I was so impressed by some of her
techniques that I started applying them in my
Swahili class. She has been a great friend who has
always been willing to listen and share advice any
time I asked for it. I can not talk about my
assistantship at Fisk without mentioning Lisa
Weiss as she has been a great mentor to me as an
aspiring language instructor. My stay at
Fisk has completely changed the
“picture” of America I had as a result
of the media’s portrayal of Americans in
Africa. I have learned how friendly Americans are
and how cooperative they are to foreigners. The
friendliness of the faculty and students made me
feel loved, protected, and accepted. As a result,
I did not suffer much from homesickness. Also, as
a young scholar in academia, my experience at Fisk
has affirmed that it is possible to do well as a
professional. As part of the
faculty development program, I had to give a
speech in the faculty lecture series. A good
number of students and faculty showed up for the
talk and displayed a great interest in the topic I
was presenting. What I thought earlier as a
challenge ended up being a life changing
experience that made me realize the potential
within me and that I could use them to serve
people. I have learned, as well, how some people
can devote themselves to the well-being of others.
I found out that in life, it is not just financial
achievement that matters, but what matters the
most is how one is of service to other human
beings. I therefore thank Fulbright for
giving me this opportunity to share, learn, and
experience. As a fresh graduate from the
University, I really needed an avenue to practice
what the class room had planted in me, and
Fulbright made this possible. The lessons I have
learned have profoundly affected my life in such a
marvelous way. It is my strong belief that what I
have learned will not just end in me, but I will
share it with other Tanzanians whose greatest need
to date is education. As my assistantship comes to a
happy ending, it is my prayer that Fisk will have
another FLTA to water the seed I have planted in
students.
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