Beyond objects: Fulbright Specialists reflect on the meaning behind their mementos

The Fulbright Specialist Program recently asked alums to look back on their time as Fulbrighters and share mementos that express what they mean to them.

Derived from the Latin word for memory, a memento is something “kept as a reminder or souvenir of a person or event.” Read on for just a few examples of how these enduring physical reminders help Fulbright Specialists remain connected to the people, places, and experiences that have shaped their lives.

Robin Hamilton, an Emmy-winning producer and broadcast journalist, shared that her memento is a meaningful reminder of the resilience of the people she encountered while working with local civil society organizations. On her Fulbright to Burma, Hamilton developed natural disaster-oriented communications plans in the wake of 2008 Cyclone Nargis, the worst natural disaster in the nation’s history, and major nationwide flooding in 2015.

“This small vase came from the Nagar Glass Factory, an old glass factory off the beaten path that not a lot of tourists visit. The factory, established in 1957, was once the largest glass factory in Yangon, producing everything from drinking glasses to vials for medicine. However, when Cyclone Nargis hit in 2008, the factory was destroyed.

With ingenuity and creativity, the owners still found viable commerce among the rubble. Surprisingly, many pieces of glass remained intact, and the owners turned the demolished factory into a ‘natural warehouse’. When I visited in 2016, eight years after the cyclone, the plot looked like a junkyard. However, that changed upon closer inspection. To my amazement, there were still pieces of glassware, intact and pretty. To me, this small vase represents the resilience of the Burmese people.”

This vase is a treasured reminder of Hamilton’s 2016 Fulbright Specialist project in Burma.

Chaunda Scott is a professor of Human Resource Development and Graduate Coordinator of the Human Diversity Inclusion and Social Justice Graduate Certificate Program at Oakland University in Michigan. Her memento reminds her of everyday experiences living alongside historically significant sites in Cape Town, South Africa.

“As a Fulbright Specialist at Cape Peninsula University of Technology, I spent several of my Saturday mornings browsing and shopping at the renowned Green Market located on Greenmarket Square — one of the oldest public market spaces in Cape Town since 1696. This historic site was once a slave trading post as well as a place to sell fruits and vegetables.

This market is now a popular cultural site where you will find an inimitable collection of gems, carved animal figurines, South African clothing, handmade jewelry, and more. The historical significance of Greenmarket Square, along with the contemporary entrepreneurial spirit of informal trading and bartering provided me with an opportunity to meet local traders, shop like a local, and purchase local items that I still cherish.”

Carved wooden statues are among the many items Scott brought back from Greenmarket Square in Cape Town, South Africa.

Karen Kwok, a nurse practitioner, advocate, and educator in public health and family nursing, couldn’t physically bring her memento onto the plane after finishing her project at the Kosovo Ministry of Health. However, a photograph serves as her reminder of a dynamic time for women’s empowerment in the country, which celebrated its 10th anniversary shortly before her Fulbright in 2019.

“It was an honor to serve as a Fulbright Specialist and learn more about Kosovo and Balkan history, culture, and communities. Since the 2008 declaration of independence, the NEWBORN monument has honored a new future for the country. I spent the 2019 Day of the Woman in Kosovo’s capital, Prishtina, where the recently redesigned NEWBORN monument featured photos of 99 Kosovan women, including the former President, researchers in gender studies, a documentary filmmaker, a martial artist, and a survivor of the 1998 Serbian-Kosovar conflict. I also enjoyed that year’s FemArt Festival in Prishtina, which highlighted the peacebuilding and changemaking power of women united across the region.”

When not busy working with the Kosovo Ministry of Health to build their staff capacity in strategic planning, Kwok enjoyed the opportunity to take in significant sites, both old and new, in the capital city of Prishtina.

While some mementos remind Specialists of meaningful places they visited, others are tied to people who had an impact on them during their Fulbright. Sheree Josephson, Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor of Communications at Weber State University, received her prized memento from a colleague-turned-friend at her host institution, the first community radio station for people with disabilities in Africa and the Arab world.

“This Tunisian farmla, an ornate ruby red velvet vest with sparkling gold trim and embroidery, was gifted to me by Besma Essoussi, the host of a weekly radio show at my host institution, Radio ML 102.3 FM in Tunis. After Besma lost her eyesight as an adult, she became the country’s leading advocate for people with disabilities in Tunisia. Besma helps listeners see the challenges that people with disabilities face by using her voice in a country with limited accommodations in transportation, education, and health care. This farmla was designed and sewed by another blind Tunisian woman who could only see her beautiful creation in her mind’s eye. My treasured memento is truly a sight to behold.”

As a Fulbright Specialist, Josephson (right) became close colleagues with journalist and advocate for people with disabilities Besma Essoussi (left), who gifted her a traditional farmla.

Similarly, a parting gift from her host institution colleagues serves as a daily reminder for Joyce Maxwell, a professor at Union County College, a community college in New Jersey, of the friendships she gained while at Stanislaw Staszic State University in Poland.

“Amber was, at one point, a commodity in Poland, and this amber necklace was given to me by the nursing professors in Poland. I love it — I’ll take it off and immediately, I’m thinking, ‘oh, where’s my necklace?’ and I put it back on. It’s one of the few pieces of jewelry I wear constantly.”

Maxwell (second from right) wears her memento, an amber necklace, at a going away ceremony held by her host institution.

And for some alums, a photo or object from their time as a Fulbrighter simply cannot capture the impact of the experience and how friendships with host colleagues and students have endured and grown over many years. Doug Mitchell, the founder and director of National Public Radio’s Next Generation Radio, a digital media professional development training program for college students and early career journalism professionals, shared this photo and reflection:

“In the Fall of 2007, the Fulbright Specialist Program took me to Santiago and La Universidad Catolica de Chile. The school was launching a ground-breaking Internet radio station, and I consulted on how that initiative would be folded into their journalism curriculum and taught a short course.

Iveliz Martel was in that class, and she later came to the United States to pursue a Master’s degree in Journalism. During her studies, she participated in a Next Gen project we did in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She returned to Chile after school, where she hosted a live radio program for many years, but recently moved to Seattle to complete an MFA the University of Washington. This photo is from last summer as she and I spent time catching up in person.

My work as the founder of NPR’s Next Gen Radio continues to be shaped by my time as a Fulbright Specialist in 2007. Media and journalism (and life!) are about connections: creating them and keeping them. I’ve started using the term “long game” when mentoring our rising professionals. We’re not just doing a job — we’re showing up in places, with people, and creating stories. But it’s the memories that take up real space and remain with us, much like this photo and many others does for me.”

While his time in Chile was brief, the connections forged during Mitchell’s Fulbright have flourished for more than a decade.