Jesuit Roma College visit
The following is a translation of an article in Hungarian from the website of the Jesuit Roma Residential College: America, A dream for many
On the 20th of March, as tradition has it, at the Jesuit Roma College the customary Thursday night community dinner took place with a special presentation from representatives of the Hungarian American Fulbright Commission.
We had a chance to familiarize ourselves with the Fulbright program through the joint presentation of Agnes Raboczki, Fulbright EducationUSA Adviser, and Andrew Gatti, Fulbright ETA (whom many of our students may recognize as one of the college’s English language instructors). Using a Prezi presentation, Agnes explained the brief history of the Fulbright program, the importance of bringing together Hungarian and American cultural relations, and the main conditions of the scholarship.
Hungary joined the Fulbright Program in 1978 and established the Fulbright Commission in Hungary in the year 1992. As students, we were presented with an incredible opportunity to study at any higher education institution of our desire. Undoubtedly, this can only be achieved with excellent grades, English language knowledge (i.e. a sufficient TOEFL exam score), a Bachelor’s degree at minimum, and the submission of the Fulbright application form. The latter is followed by the institutional TOEFL language test (if the applicant does not already have a TOEFL score) and an interview which will take place in June-July. The application process takes a time period of approximately one year. Sounds complicated, right? We felt a little intimidated as well, but it turns out that the Fulbright application process is easily understandable and through hard work and perseverance we may become one of the Fulbright program’s student grantees. Therefore, it is exceptionally important that we concentrate even harder on our studies.
To experience America is a dream for many, and with this scholarship we have a chance to do so. The college was buzzing with excitement after the presentation. We discovered that we have the possibility to study at highly esteemed institutions such as Harvard or Yale University. To help turn our dreams into realities our college is ready to offer a wide variety of assistance to its students in accordance with the support of the Fulbright Commission.
Afterwards, a cheerful dinner followed the presentation at which most of my college mates for already thinking of which university they would like to attend, what field of research to pick, and how they would be able to utilize the results of their research in Hungary.
Consequently, our Thursday night was once again spent usefully. Our presenters shed light on new paths, as well as making us realize that our dreams are just an arm’s length away and it is never too late to start working towards them. All in all, it is clear to many of us that the compensation for pouring our time and energy into our studies will be innumerable.