This section features profiles of Fulbright grantees and alumni written during or subsequent to their Fulbright exchanges.
Featured alumni
New Zealand Graduate Students
“The value of the Fulbright cannot be measured in quantitative terms. It is not simply an ‘award’ but the beginning of a journey. For me, the Fulbright was a catalyst – a launching pad – that ultimately led to even more rewarding and enriching experiences after my studies.”
Saeeda Verrall
2007 Fulbright New Zealand Graduate Student
US Graduate Students
“While my New Zealand stories were all about outsiders, they were in some ways even more about the Māori idea of kotahitanga – oneness … I think kotahitanga must have been what Senator Fulbright was aiming for from the start. Though I could only stay seven years in Aotearoa, it will stay in me forever.”
Sándor Lau
2000 Fulbright US Graduate Student
New Zealand Scholars
“The greatest gift of the Fulbright was the extended period of time we were in the States. You get a feel for the rhythm of American life, the pattern of the year, the way the seasons behave and public holidays fall, which is very, very different from the sense of America you get if you visit as a tourist, or for a conference; or which comes at you constantly from television and other parts of the media.”
Bill Manhire
1999 Fulbright Visiting Professor in New Zealand Studies
US Scholars
“The dividends from the Fulbright year cannot be exaggerated … We now have friends from Dunedin to the Bay of Islands, many of whom have visited us when they were on our side of the Pacific [and] we have had a chance to explore New Zealand from North Cape to Stewart Island and out to the Chathams. How could you beat that?”
Bob Norris
1961 Fulbright US Research Scholar