Professor Holly McKinzie Beene was a Senior Fulbright Grantee in Romania in 2011-2012, at Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacău, where her teaching and research projects were carried out in close cooperation with her Romanian colleague and friend Professor Doina Cmeciu.

It was now Holly’s turn to host Doina in Glendale, Arizona. As community colleges are a distinctly U.S. model of post-secondary higher education, offering both academic and vocational programs, Professors Beene and Cmeciu worked for over a year to design an informal visit to explore relationships between U.S. and Romanian higher education. In April 2015, Professor Cmeciu visited Glendale Community College.

The Spring 2015 edition of the International Study Day project began in Craiova, on April 22, with a one-day event held at the University of Craiova. The International Study Day project (ISD) consists of a series of outreach presentations jointly organized by the British Council, DAAD, the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission and the Fulbright-EducationUSA center in Bucharest in various cities throughout the country, targeting the underserved student population.

On Wednesday, April 22, Fulbright-EducationUSA participated in the first outreach session of this ISD season, maintaining an information and advising booth at the University of Craiova and holding the opening presentation in the ISD program of the day. The presentation was followed by a short press conference, during which the representatives of all three organizing institutions and Prof. Cristiana Teodorescu, Vice-Rector of the University of Craiova, delivered key information to the members of the press and the student audience. News of the event was disseminated through the media channels in Craiova, including online references. An estimated number of 100 high school, undergraduate and graduate students visited the ISD booths and attended the scheduled presentations to find out more about study opportunities in the United States, Great Britain and Germany, and several students expressed an interest in using the online advising services provided by the organizing institutions.

On Tuesday, April 21st, the Fulbright Educational Advising Center-EducationUSA hosted a special workshop titled “Building Your Way to U.S. Graduate Admissions: Writing Persuasive Essays”, coordinated by Jamie Beth Weaver, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant and Columbia College graduate.

During the workshop, which lasted over an hour, Jamie helped the 20 participants – mainly prospective Fulbright applicants - get a solid grasp of the differences between the study objectives essay and the personal statement and start developing effective writing strategies for both.

Her engaging presentation expertly guided the attendees through the “do’s” and “don’ts” of writing a strong essay, highlighting the importance of weaving a story and zooming in on whatever can help the applicant stand out among one’s peers.

Prospective applicants acquainted themselves with effective ways to emphasize their strong suits by looking at excerpts from successful Fulbright applications. The last part of the workshop also included valuable advice on matters of structure and style.

Jamie was happy to take questions throughout the workshop, providing participants with insider’s tips on writing, proofreading and the Fulbright application in general.

On Monday, April 27, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission and FEAC-EducationUSA will host the online seminar “A Fulbrighter’s Experience: What You Need to Know about Graduate Study Opportunities in the US”.

The webinar will be conducted by Diana Livia Ursachi, Fulbright Alumna, who earned an MBA degree (2008-2010) at Atkinson Graduate School of Management, Willamette University.

Diana will offer you her perspective on the application process for graduate admissions, along with practical suggestions from her own experience as a Fulbright grantee in the US. She will also talk about her life at Willamette University, as an international master’s student there, as well as about her professional achievements after her return. Diana will be ready to answer your questions in the last part of the webinar.

For attendance please register by email at office@fulbright.ro by Friday, April 24.