This spring, Howard College alumnus Virgil Parker (B.A. ’21) and Ph.D. candidate Lyndsie Whitehead had been chosen as 2024 Fulbright Program Alumni Ambassadors. On this two-year appointment, Parker and Whitehead are tasked with serving as representatives for the celebrated Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.
Parker and Whitehead are two of solely 20 ambassadors chosen for the 2024 cohort. As Alumni Ambassadors, they’ve been chosen to offer testimonials about their Fulbright expertise at conferences and campus shows and provide software ideas via varied types of multimedia and particular occasions throughout the US. The pair have already represented this system at fellow HBCUs Spelman Faculty and Clark Atlanta College.
Parker’s Fulbright Expertise on North American Commerce
After graduating from Howard College in 2021, Parker accomplished a Fulbright trade in Canada, the place he studied cross-border financial coverage on the College of Windsor. His analysis explored means of making financial fairness in U.S.-Canada commerce for U.S. enterprise house owners who establish as ladies or members of minority teams. Parker hopes his story can encourage future Fulbrighters wanting to share their experience on a world stage.
“I’m very honored and excited to be chosen as an Alumni Ambassador,” says Parker. “Being awarded a grant from the Fulbright program was an honor inside itself, so I’m very wanting to encourage different college students to be part of this expertise.”
Watching [Lyndsie] and plenty of different Howard college students commit themselves to … giving again to their neighborhood additional amplifies that we must always take our time on this world critically.”
Parker says he has two particular objectives in his ambassador function. “First, I need to inspire extra college students, particularly college students of coloration, to see the significance of touring to different nations and exploring these cultures,” Parker says. “There’s a lot on the market for us to see on this planet, and Fulbright is a superb likelihood to immerse your self out of the country, whereas benefiting academically.”
“Secondly, I need to debunk any false narrative {that a} Fulbright grant is simply too onerous to attain or the applying course of is simply too difficult,” Parker continues. “Fulbright doesn’t have a GPA minimal for a motive. They search for well-rounded people who’re wanting to discover a overseas tradition, add significant worth to that host nation, after which return dwelling to assist make our nation higher. There are such a lot of ways in which college students can try to attain these objectives, and I imagine they shouldn’t let something hinder them from making use of to this superb alternative.”
A Cathy Hughes College of Communications graduate, Parker was most just lately a tv producer for News10NBC (WHEC-TV) of Rochester, N.Y., and is at present a International Objectives Ambassador for the United Nations Affiliation of the USA. He aspires to turn into a filmmaker who can use the ability of storytelling to each educate and entertain individuals about vital individuals and occasions in historical past.
“I’m very excited to serve on this cohort with fellow Bison Lyndsie Whitehead,” says Parker. “Watching her and plenty of different Howard college students commit themselves to public affairs and giving again to their neighborhood additional amplifies that we must always take our time on this world critically.”
Whitehead Explores the African Diaspora By way of Fulbright
Whitehead additionally earned a Fulbright grant in 2021, the place her analysis examined the push-pull components that affect sub-Saharan African college students’ enrollment choices in India, together with help providers, monetary assets, and relationships with college and friends. Her analysis explores methods for policymakers, directors, and college to realize a deeper understanding of the decision-making processes of worldwide college students selecting to check overseas.
“As an African American lady, I’ve at all times been intrigued by the African diaspora past the geographical boundaries of the US,” says Whitehead. “I proceed to be fascinated with diasporic connections to the African continent. Upon enrolling within the Increased Instructional Management and Coverage Program at Howard, I knew that my dissertation analysis would undoubtedly have a world focus – it was merely a matter of honing in on the placement.”
“Shifts in worldwide scholar mobility naturally guided me to Africa and the Indian subcontinent. In 2021, the African Union reported that with greater than 400 million younger adults ages 15-35, Africa has the youngest inhabitants globally and with India surpassing a complete inhabitants of 1 billion,” Whitehead says. “These two areas are and can proceed to be vital in shaping the worldwide increased training panorama. If we aren’t speaking about India and its relationship with Africa, particularly because it pertains to increased training, we’ve missed the goal.”
Presently a senior affiliate at UNICEF-USA and a doctoral candidate in Howard’s increased training management and coverage program, Whitehead’s profession objectives embrace establishing a non-profit group that integrates insights from her analysis to offer management improvement, profession teaching, and internship alternatives for worldwide college students.
Virgil and I are part of an in depth legacy of Howard College’s world presence and dedication to getting ready worldwide students.”
“Internationalization may be very a lot part of Howard College’s institutional DNA. It embodies the very ethos of our campus relationship again to 1870 when three Chinese language college students – Fung Affoo, Choy Awah, and Leong Sing – obtained full scholarships and enrolled at Howard Regular College,” says Whitehead. “Virgil and I are part of an in depth legacy of Howard College’s world presence and dedication to getting ready worldwide students.”
Per the Fulbright web site, Alumni Ambassadors comprise an array of various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, states, fields of examine, establishments, and world areas during which their Fulbright expertise befell. In a extremely aggressive course of, Fulbright Commissions, U.S. Embassies, Fulbright Program Managers, and the Outreach Division convene every autumn to suggest alumni for this system. The U.S. Division of State’s Bureau of Instructional and Cultural Affairs then approves the ultimate number of Alumni Ambassadors.
Based in 1946, the Fulbright Program is a world educational trade program with the purpose of accelerating mutual understanding and supporting pleasant and peaceable relations between the individuals of the US and the individuals of different nations. In the present day, the U.S. authorities oversees an in depth suite of fellowships and scholarships in partnership with greater than 160 nations worldwide.