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Fulbright
Gateway Orientation by Dorothy Avondstondt Wolfson I
recently had the pleasure of being Assistant Project Director for the 2005
Fulbright Gateway Orientation program held at Wolfson campus from August
15-19 and August 22-26. This program was directed by Professor Maureen
O’Hara, and she did a fabulous job. This was the second year that Miami
Dade hosted this program. The
Fulbright Gateway Orientation was for incoming international Fulbright
scholars. It was sponsored by the Department of State, Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs and was administered by the Institute of
International Education. The purpose of the orientation was to instill
a Fulbright identity among the students, cultivate survival skills for their
graduate studies, and provide further understanding of U.S. culture and
social issues in order to aid their intercultural communication in their host
communities throughout the U.S. The
three major components of the orientation were academic skills, graduate
student life and cross-cultural awareness. Workshops included Cross Cultural
Awareness, Introduction to the U.S. Academic System, The Psychological and
Physical Health of Students, Government and Politics in the U.S., American
Values and Beliefs, Managing Time, Introduction to WebCT and PowerPoint,
Students’ Rights and Responsibilities, History of American Art in the U.S.,
Managing Stress and Life, and Use of Computers and Libraries for Academic
Research. All these lectures were given by MDC professors from different
campuses, and they were all outstanding. There was also a panel
discussion with former and current Fulbright recipients. The
orientation ended with a session given by the Fulbright administrators from
New York, a visual tour of all 50 states and a program evaluation. Each
week there was a different group of Fulbright scholars. Students stayed
at the Holiday Inn near Bayside. In addition to the orientation
seminars, scholars had daily lunches and dinners, and several historical
tours given by Dr. Paul George. These included a boat tour of Biscayne
Bay, as well as a tour of Miami, including Vizcaya. Students also had
the opportunity to visit the world-famous art gallery of Britto on Lincoln
Road and Ocean Drive on South Beach. During
this entire orientation, it was a real pleasure to see the interaction of
students from counties all over the world, such as South Africa, Turkey,
Iraq, Thailand, Viet Nam, Pakistan, Germany, etc. They developed strong
bonds very quickly, and were very impressed with the facilities of MDC, as
well as the professionalism of the professors and program. Miami Dade personnel involved in this program were Joseph Tamargo, Franklyn Tan Te, Geraldine Walker, Diane Sloan, Paul George, Paula Epstein, Alex Gancedo, Germán Muñoz, Charles Beavin, René C. Izquierdo, Paula Sánchez, Danixia Cuevas, Carmen Domínguez, Oscar Silwamy, Marilyn Gottlieb-Roberts, Phyllis Baker, Robert Calabrese, and Zenaida Fernández. There were many others involved behind the scenes. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard. Also, congratulations to Professor O’Hara for her wonderful job in directing this orientation, and to Dr. Montoya, Dr. Oroza, Dr. Goonen, Dr. Padrón and all the others involved in this project. We are already planning the next Fulbright orientation in 2006! |