The Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission and the Fulbright-EducationUSA Advising Center kicked off this year’s edition of the International Study Day (ISD) tour, alongside the British Council and DAAD, on April 13 with two presentations in Târgovişte, at “Constantin Carabella” and “Ienăchiţă Văcărescu” National College.

An audience of about 130 students from both high schools attended our presentations, keen to learn more about study opportunities in the U.S., as well as Europe. Several voiced an interest in the U.S. as a potential or preferred study destination and we were happy to provide them with information on the American higher education system, the application process and financial aid, as well as the ways in which the Fulbright-EducationUSA Advising Center can help them get closer to the American Dream.

Our series of presentations in Bucharest dedicated to the Romanian students interested in applying for graduate programs in the U.S., with a focus on the 2017-2018 Fulbright Student Award competition, concluded last Thursday with an event hosted by the Faculty of Political Science, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA).  Other presentations took place this past March at the University of Bucharest, Bucharest University of Economic Studies and Politehnica University of Bucharest.  

The participants received information on the path to studying in the U.S., either through applying for a Fulbright Student Award or through independently approaching U.S. universities. They also found out more about the resources available at FEAC-EducationUSA, as well as about the Fulbright Commission’s activities, such as informative gatherings, online seminars and workshops.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Prorector Marius Profiroiu, Fulbright Alumnus and Professor at ASE Bucharest, Mihaela Albu, Professor UPB and Fulbright Ambassador, and Aurelian Muntean, PhD FPS/SNSPA and Fulbright Alumnus, who lent us their kind support for this round of presentations, helping us with promoting and organizing these events at the universities where they teach.

HUEVOS CONGELADOS is a play by Rucsandra Pop, former Fulbright Researcher, that tackles a taboo topic in Romania – infertility. More about the play in Rucsandra's words: "HUEVOS CONGELADOS was born from the encounter I had with two total strangers in an airplane taking me from Miami to Dallas, during my Fulbright year. These two ladies offered me their life stories, anxieties and problems and have projected upon me their greatest suffering – the fact that they had no children. One of them had very low chances to become a mother, as she was over 50. This invasive encounter made me dig into my own anxieties. I was already 35, I had no children and no plans to have any. When I got off the airplane I knew that I would write a play having as a starting point this experience. This delicate topic – infertility – is a universal one and I was fascinated when I understood that in Romania this topic is discussed only with the closest friends, while in an open culture, like the USA, you can have a conversation on this topic even with strangers". Rucsandra studied at Indiana University in 2011-2012. This is her forth play being showcased in Romania.

 

We have received  excellent news from Ioana Țurcan, alumna of the Fulbright Student program.  Ioana, together with young producer  Vlad Cantoreanu, both graduates from the Faculty of Theatre and Film of Babes-Bolyai University Cluj, have been shortlisted in the current tenth edition of the GOPO Awards competition (http://www.premiilegopo.ro/nominalizari/2016).
The documentary titled “The Other Life of Charon”, directed by Ioana, is now competing within the Short Documentary Film category and portrays the life of an isolated Roma family from a small neighborhood in Romania. The GOPO award is a distinction recompensing the most important Romanian film feats. Ioana Țurcan is a graduate student in her second year of a master’s program at Syracuse University, the Department of Transmedia. 
Photo: Dailyorange.com