Once a Fulbrighter, Always a Fulbrighter
The Beginning of my Fulbright Experience
I can't remember how many opportunities I missed in my life just because I was afraid to try. Although being afraid of failure is a common feeling, I learned with time that the feeling of regret is much worse and does not go away. Never had I ever applied for a scholarship before, and I was not sure if my profile was a good fit to be considered. Certainly, I had graduated from college with honors, and I had been working at a top AEC company in my field. I had to take the leap of faith. Some weeks after submitting my application, here I was ready to face a committee of the Fulbright Peru Commision (see Figure 1). My interview took place on June 26th, 2020 (a couple of days after my 26th birthday). I was nervous, but I had prepared myself for this moment. I thought if I make it, this could be the best birthday gift ever. A gift that could change the course of my life.
Fig 1. Fulbright Personal Interview
From left to right: Laura Balbuena Gonzalez, Diana Costa Montañez, Netty Malca Pérez and Roque Benavides Ganoza.
Day D
On July 9th, 2020, I would receive the call I had been waiting for. Laura Balbuena, Executive Director of the Fulbright Peru Commision, was on the line and I was being offered a Fulbright scholarship to pursue a Master's degree Civil Engineering in the United States. Because I submitted my application shortly before the deadline and this was the first time I was ever applying to any scholarship, I had kept my expectations relatively low. I must admit I was in awe: I was going to study overseas! Fate had smiled upon me (at last). My mum was around and became the first to know the news from me. After that, I just broke in tears of joy. It was a moment I will never forget. I told my dad later that day when got home from work, and he was equally happy for me.
Fig 2. A missed call on Whatsapp
Ironically, and just for the record, I missed the very first call (Figure 2). But as soon as I saw who was calling I knew what was coming. They would not call me if I had not been selected, would they?. Luckily, there was a second call that I would not miss. I can only imagine how rewarding it has to be for them to know that they are changing the lives of so many people every year. And I guess that is the beauty of the Fulbright Program. It is not just about the scholarship, it is about the people. My cohort was quite diverse, and it pleased me to realize I was among a group of fellows that had quite impressive records. As usual, there was a bit of imposter syndrome going on, but I guess it has always worked out that way for me. I see these things as a huge dose of motivation.
The Application Process
We began the process of applying to grad school some weeks later. I had already done some research on the universities I was interested in, but we were somewhat restricted by the Terms & Conditions of the grant. Because the stipend had a cap, we had to be careful with the tuition fees, so only universities willing to offer full waivers could be considered (if one did not want to pay the difference out of pocket). I figured there was only two ways to fulfill this requirement: either the university had to offer me an appointment, or a fellowship. Fellowships are rare, and appointments are usually offered to PhD students only. If you asked yourself why, the answer is simple: Master's students are not expected to contribute to research as much as PhD students do. Therefore, funding is usually more limited for them. Reaching out to prospective Professors I wanted to work with proved to be useful. I would like to highlight the attention I received from who later became my advisor, Dr. Imad L. Al-Qadi, from the University of Illinois, and Dr. Amit Bhasin, from the University of Texas at Austin, who showed genuine interest in my profile and dedicated time to follow up on my application and meet me online.
Upon completion of all my grad school applications, all that was left to do was to wait, patiently. I received admission letters from every college I applied to: the University of California Berkeley, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, and the University of Illinois, Chicago. I had to decline UC Berkeley's offer as they did not offer me enough financial support as an MS student. Looking back, if money hadn't been a problem, I would have probably ended up specializing in Transportation Systems instead. Woul I have liked that more? I guess we will never know. Illinois arose as the most attractive option then, as the top school for specializing in Transportation Infrastructure. I was offered a full tuition waiver, a monthly stipend, and a research assistantship. On top of that, my advisor would be a widely-recognized transportation professional. It did not take me long to make up my mind. I cannot emphasize enough how important is to choose the right advisor. You could be in a top school, but under the wrong mentor, your experience may not be as rewarding as you expected.
Fig 3. Fulbright Peru Grantees (Cohort 2021)
I wish you could all see our smiles, but it was a tough year and we were just getting back to normal after the COVID pandemic
After making a decision, the pre-departure preparations started. I decided to quit my job several months before the start of my program to spend more time at home with my family. I had been working for several years, and I never really took vacations so this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to do so. On July 24th, 2021, I had the chance to meet in-person the members of my cohort for the first time (Figure 3). We were all excited during our send-off party!
Next Stop: Illinois
Fig 4. The ICT Team
I was formally introduced to the research team (Figure 4) at the Illinois Center for Transportation on June 7th, 2021, and this is where my journey started. These guys would later become colleagues and friends. Little I knew back then that I would be spending the next couple of years working alongside them on exciting research projects. Weekly meetings were still being held online at that time, but everybody was getting ready to return to the office as Illinois announced its plans to resume in-person activities during Fall 2021. I was excited to meet everyone in person, and I was looking forward to the day I would finally arrive in the US.