Interview Completed

Earlier this month I completed an interview hosted by a Fulbright peer review team. Unlike in previous years, this year's interviews were conducted on the phone. I was told by members of the review team that the State Department has contracted with a different operations agency this year than they have for the past couple of decades so new methods such as this are to be expected.

The interview last about 35 minutes. I was speaking with three veteran teachers from Iowa, all of whom have completed various Fulbright experiences. Questions included:
"Why did you apply for this program?"
"What characteristic do you think would make you a good candidate for an exchange?"
"Why do you think you would represent well the United States to the students and staff you will encounter on your exchange?"
"How would you assist a foreign teacher assigned to your school?"
"Do you think your community and school would be supportive of an exchange teacher?"
"If you are selected, how would Cori be a good fit to join you abroad?"

It's difficult to summarize my answers, although I can generally say I made frequent reference to my time teaching in Hungary, my experiences teaching at Germantown, and Cori's great sense of adventure. I spoke about my school's involvement in hosting foreign exchange students and staff through our foreign language program, and I talked about my interest in foreign culture and global events, and my desire to create a foreign-travel social studies class at Germantown.

In all, the interview seemed to go well. There were no awkward moments, none of the questions threw me, and I had a handful of questions for the panel as well. Towards the end, the team leader told me I should expect to hear from the Fulbright organization by February as to whether I have been selected for an exchange, although that doesn't guarantee anything: a match with a foreign teacher still must be arranged, and that could take until as late as June!

So, the wait is on.

Fulbright: Step 2

When I returned home from a wonderful Thanksgiving at Cori's parent's house, I found a hand-addressed envelope awaiting me in the mail. Thinking it would be the hyper-inflated Weimar Republic banknote I recently purchased on Ebay, I excitedly tore it open. Inside, I found a letter from the Fulbright Iowa Chairperson.

It turns out my application has been forwarded to the regional interview team and I have been granted an interview by telephone this Saturday! In past years these interviews were conducted in person, but this year Fulbright is trying a new method for screening applicants (perhaps they are going "green?").

So, this week the chairperson and I will arrange a time at which I will interview with a screening panel. From what I understand, the group will use the interview to evaluate my candidacy. The panel will then provide a recommendation to the Fulbright Academy for Educational Development (AED) in Washington, DC. The AED will ultimately decide if I will be selected to teach abroad.

If I make it that far (and I have guarded confidence that I will), I will face what I anticipate will be my biggest hurdle: finding a viable matching teacher abroad. I teach world history and economics, and I have a feeling the economics class will be the difficult one to align with foreign teaching candidates. This week I plan to ask my principal if my school can be flexible about allowing my potential match to teach only world history, and have a domestic teacher pick up my sections of economics. We'll see.

However, at this point, I'm glad to have made it to the second step in this process. Before I completed the application I had tempered my emotions as they relate to this opportunity. But since that time, I have had a difficult time keeping my mind off the exciting possibilities that might lie ahead!