Romania took hold of my heart in 2015 and since then has consumed my mind and soul. As with any genuine commitment, my relationship with this beautiful, complex country has grown and deepened over time as I have learned of its many tragedies, as well as its many triumphs. I have surrendered myself to Romania. [...] As I continue my Romanian journey, I marvel over the resiliency and fortitude of the people. I am fortunate to have developed close relationships, familial in many ways, with many Romanians. And I am eternally grateful to have been granted a Fulbright and honored to become part of this amazing community.
Final meeting of the 2021-2022 U.S. Fulbrighters
The final meeting of the year for the 2021-2022 American Fulbright grantees in Romania was hosted by the Multicultural Center of Transilvania University of Brașov, on June 8 and 9.
The U.S. Fulbright Scholars, Student Researchers and ETAs, as well as their accompanying dependents, traveled to Brașov from Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Timișoara, Iași, Sibiu, and Constanța. The group was welcomed by Prof. Mihaela Gheorghe, Vice-Rector at Transilvania University of Brașov, Prof. Adrian Lăcătuș, Dean of the Faculty of Letters, Conf. Gabriela Chefneux, coordinator of the American Studies program, Mr. Timothy Gerhardson, Public Affairs Counselor at the U.S. Embassy, and Prof. Mircea Dumitru, the Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission.
The Fulbrighters presented their main teaching and research activities, as well as an impressive number of academic and artistic projects & events in which they participated, such as conferences, exhibitions, public lectures, poetry readings, theatre festivals, and volunteering work. All in all, lots of hard work, dedication and inspiration! Once more, the Fulbright program demonstrates its virtue of creating long-lasting relationships and friendships, bringing invaluable benefits for the grantees, but also for their Romanian colleagues, students, and friends.
On the second day of the meeting, the group visited the Libearty Bear Sanctuary in Zărnești. Recognized by many specialists as the most ethical bear sanctuary in the world, its territory lays on 69 hectares of coniferous forests and is hosting over 100 rescued bears.
A big THANK YOU to all the grantees for their work and enthusiasm, and to the representatives of Transilvania University of Brasov for their warm welcome!
More photos are available on the Commission’s Facebook page.