This year, for the first time, aspiring upperclassmen in the Global Scholars and Ignatian Scholars programs had the chance to attend a panel to learn more about the Fulbright Scholars program. The event was organized by Bob Stephan, Director for Ignatian Formation and Adult Spirituality at Loyola and a Fulbright alumnus. Teachers Daniel Annarelli and Thomas Marsh were also responsible for helping to plan the event, and they encouraged their students in the Global Scholars and Ignatian Scholars programs to attend.

“Fulbright scholars are postgraduate researchers who go study and research in an international location with the goal of developing a deeper understanding of the needs of different societies around the globe, and how we can work together and leverage our collective strength and knowledge,” Annarelli said. By inviting students at Loyola wanting to learn about global education, Annarelli hoped students would see that there is a need for the collaborative work done at Fulbright, where highly educated individuals across the country can make a difference in the world.

“The program’s values align extremely well with global citizenship education in the Ignatian context,” Annarelli said. “What Jesuit high schools around the globe are trying to do for the formation of young people into contributing global citizens is a really nice marriage between what the Fulbright program does at the adult level and what we at the high school level are trying to model on a much smaller scale.”

Three panelists were invited to speak about their experiences as Fulbright Scholars. Of the panelists, Aaron Kleist spoke on his experience in Belarus, Jesse Jovel shared stories about teaching in Colombia, and Jill Humphries talked about teaching in South Africa. The scholars also shared how their respective programs have opened up doors for their careers.

With the event being such a success, Annarelli hopes to continue hosting panels of the Fulbright Program in following years, potentially even expanding the program to more students. He stated, “I think it would be a good idea to open it up to more people. We do have limited space and want to make sure our audience is relevant for the topic, so we would have to discuss which students we would invite, but I definitely see value in opening this up to a wider audience.”