Episode 23: Celebrating UMBC's Fantastic Fulbrights with Maryam Elhabashy, Dr. Bambi Chapin, & Dr. Brian Souders

3:29PM Jul 10, 2022

Speakers:

Dr. Ian Anson

Campus Connections

Sophia Possidente

Dr. Brian Souders

Dr. Bambi Chapin

Maryam Elhabashy

Keywords:

umbc

students

fulbright

research

maryam

project

anthropology

fulbright program

application

people

learning

chapin

social science

pursue

kuwait

year

support

speak

faculty

thought

Hello and welcome to Retrieving the Social Sciences, a production of the Center for Social Science Scholarship. I'm your host, Ian Anson, Associate Professor of Political Science here at UMBC. On today's show, as always, we'll be hearing from UMBC faculty, students, visiting speakers, and community partners about the social science research they've been performing in recent times. Qualitative, quantitative, applied, empirical normative. On Retrieving the Social Sciences, we bring the best of UMBC's social science community to you.

When I began my undergraduate career at the University of North Carolina, I arrived on campus hot, sweaty, thrilled, and totally overwhelmed by everything happening around me. There were thousands of other students moving in, milling around, getting acquainted, joining clubs going up to Franklin Street, and of course, talking about that basketball player that they had spotted that time at the dining hall. Eventually, I settled in and started to learn basic things, like exactly how many minutes it took to walk from my dorm room to my 8am lecture. And by the time I finished my first year, I knew even more, like the fact that I wanted to study political science, and that I wanted to be a researcher. But regrettably, I went all four years at UNC without actually learning the meaning of a word that I had heard thrown about by a lot of high-achieving classmates. What the heck is a Fulbright? And why do people talk about it like it's some kind of unicorn? You know, coming to UMBC has been an interesting revelation on that front, because as it turns out, we are really good at producing Fulbright Scholars. It makes sense, I guess, because UMBC is kind of a unicorn of its own, isn't it? Today on Retrieving the Social Sciences, I have the good fortune to talk to someone who recently won one: Maryam Elhabashy, a recent UMBC graduate who's currently working as a researcher at Rutgers University. Because Maryam's path to a Fulbright couldn't have happened without some great institutional support. We're also going to hear from Dr. Bambi Chapin, Associate Professor of Anthropology, and Dr. Brian Souders, UMBC's Fulbright Program Advisor. During our interview, we talked about the Fulbright Program, what makes UMBC so successful at obtaining Fulbright Scholarships, and of course, Maryam's fascinating research, which sits at the intersection of anthropology and public health. And along the way, we learn some of the secrets of a successful Fulbright application. Let's listen in.

Thank you all so much for agreeing to come on the podcast. I'm really excited to get into a discussion a little bit of UMBC's Fulbright applicants and the success stories that we've had in recent times in the social sciences. I thought it would be kind of helpful for our audience to begin a little bit with just a general discussion of what the Fulbright program is, and why is it so prestigious, right? So maybe Dr. Souders can can take this question and then we can bring in Dr. Chapin and Maryam in just a moment.

The Fulbright Scholarship Program is a prestigious opportunity that is funded by the US State Department to allow students, and that could be either newly graduated undergraduates all the way through PhD students, to do one of three things. They can do either an independent research project for an academic year of their own design, they can earn a master's degree in one of about 30 countries throughout the world, or alternately, they can teach English as a foreign language in about 80 countries throughout the world. So the State Department like calls it its flagship exchange program for not just for academic exchange, but also for cross cultural exchange. To get young American students out to sort of show the best and brightest that America has to offer. And the Fulbright student program is just one part of the Fulbright Program. There's of course, the inbound international students to come to the United States to earn degrees here and of course, the faculty side where faculty can, both international faculty members can come to the US and US faculty members to go overseas to teach or do research. The thing that I really like about the program is that it is prestigious, but it's not elitist. Fulbright really wants the, its cohort of students to look like America. Want to express the, show the American experience and show the broad face of America to the rest of the world.

Wow. America's best and brightest, America's diversity. You know, I'm really thinking about this sort of description of the Fulbright Program, and I'm realizing that I've heard this before, right, it sounds a little bit like UMBC. Maybe that has something to do with why we're something of a Fulbright super producer according to some of our language. Tell us a little bit about that Dr. Souders. What does this mean, and why does it happen that our students are so good at winning these Fulbrights?

There's sort of two real strengths that I think that UMBC has, besides our amazing students. So the first I think, is the training and research methods. So our students across the university, you know, one of the things that that we emphasize in many programs, and certainly in the anthropology program, and in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health, and I think throughout the social sciences, is that students aren't just learning about what other researchers have done. They are researchers. They're junior researchers. They are learning the methods in social science. They're learning, so for our case, in Anthropology, they're they're practicing in their coursework, interviewing, observation, reflection. They're not just reading published work, they are themselves beginning to be producers of that work. And that really sets them up to prepare research proposals in particular, for that Fulbright. And then the other thing I would say is that our students get a lot of support. You know, I actually had a Fulbright when I was doing my dissertation research in Sri Lanka. And I remember my interview, and it was very nice conversation. They asked me things like, do you think you're mature enough? I was like, "Yeah" (laughs). That was my interview. Here the process is much more intensive. And that interview, that on campus interview with faculty, is really a panel of faculty that are giving students all sorts of advice about how to craft a project, even though they've already put together this wonderful project now, like how to take it apart, re-put it back together, what we see as strengths, and then supporting them and encouraging them as they go through that really difficult intellectual work, emotional work, of figuring out how to make their strong projects even stronger so that when they get past the university, they are, they have these just, you know, amazing, impressive portfolios to present.

That is so fantastic. And you know, it really resonates, I think, with some of the other episodes that we've had on the podcast, right. We think about some of the episodes where we've highlighted the work of students at URCAD, for example. I mean, really, Dr. Chapin, your insights, I think really speak to the strength of UMBC as a school that really focuses on undergraduate research as a point of emphasis. Yeah, Dr. Souders, you wanted to maybe add something to that.

So and just to segue off of that is that especially the work done by Dr. April Householder in both with URCAD and with the URA awards, is just a fantastic way for our students who are already have strong researchers to be able to take that research to the next level to a global stage. And I always tell our applicants that if you are, if you have applied for URCAD, or if you have uhm a URA award, you are already leaps and bounds ahead in this process of putting together a competitive Fulbright application. So, and Dr. Chapin alluded to the process that we have to get our students to the, to the end goal of having a successful application. So we spend, over the course of the summer, I spend a lot of time working both in groups and one-on-one with students. So as part of the application cycle, we have what's called Fullbright boot camps. And those are intensive workshops that are done in May, June, and July, that sort of give students the tools to be able to help them understand this unique set of writing that for many of them, this is the first time they've done this kind of a scholarly application before. So to make sure that they have together this, these tools that will make them successful in putting an application together. There's a lot of iterative work for me, like reading graphs and giving them feedback. So that I, as what I call the educated, non expert will be able to understand their, make sure that what they are writing is something that is going to be understandable to a panel of educated non experts. So, and that is frequently of course, our amazing faculty and staff panels that that sit in on our, who do interview the students as part of the application process and give them that critical feedback that takes an already solid application and makes it even better. So that by the time it goes off to the national selection committees our students applications are stellar.

Can I ask Are those boot camps? Is that something that you came up with? Is that something that's done all over? Should we keep that a secret?

It is not a secret. I have actually presented on this, this model that I I kind of want to think I came up with it. I don't think it's necessarily that I came up with it, but it's something that we've been doing now for, I think this is the seventh year that I've been doing them. And it makes, there's two ways that I think it's super helpful. It's group advising. So basically, as a group, it's helping students sort of see this at a group level that this is how you can put together a competitive proposal, and one. But what's also helpful is it creates a cohort of students who, who historically have been like, I would tell them "go go, write." How hard could this be? So and then what I've discovered actually it's really hard. So when you actually get the group of students together to ask questions, and sort of suss through the problems that they might be having as putting their proposals together, they realize like, oh, yeah, there's a group of us do this, we're sort of this group of mutual support, that's gonna help you get through this intellectual challenge. So, so it makes it great, I think it's a tremendously helpful resource for the students to be able to recognize they're going through this together.

And I really think that is another strength that UMBC has that plays out in the Fulbright application process, which is, I think, in lots of different contexts, our students see each other as, not as competitors but as collaborators. You know, one of us at least has this, right, we're gonna work together on this, we're going to support and learn from each other. And I've just been really impressed by that across all sorts of different, you know, whether it's classrooms or study groups. Across the disciplines, and I really, I really value that and think that's a wonderful thing for our students themselves. I also think one of the things that you do, you know, if we take this idea of cultural capital, right, that we talked about in the social sciences. You know, do you have the cultural capital to leverage? And, and, you know, at some perhaps more elite, expensive schools, students come in with, with, you know, parents who are grant writers, or whatever, and then they have this advantage at home. But it doesn't mean that their projects are any better, right? It doesn't mean that they have more to contribute. That grant writing project is a skill, and if you've never done it before, and if you don't happen to have the personal resources, it is, I think, a tremendous asset that UMBC provides that to all the students because it's it's not, you know, it's not magic. It's not it is, it's a formula, it's a process, and you can learn it, and then your ideas can really develop. And I think that's one of the things that happens.

And to follow up on that, the way that we describe this grant writing process, it's basically I think it's a nine piece puzzle. Here are the nine pieces. So, and for those of us who have been working with this kind of writing for years, it's natural, but for many of our students, this is the first time they're doing this, and they, they sometimes just look at the enormity of it all and get overwhelmed. And I'm like, No, you're basically writing nine paragraphs to put together. This is very much a doable project, just take it one little bit at a time. And I am my job here is to make sure that you feel supported, and I can give you as much feedback that you, in coordination with your academic advisors and your faculty members who actually know your topic, can put something together that's going to be, that's going to show just how amazing you are as a student and how great our students are, in general.

Wow, well, Dr. Souders and Dr. Chapin, thank you so much for sharing some of the hidden secrets of UMBC success in this in this in this field. You know, I really want to talk a little bit to Maryam as well. I want to bring her into the discussion and talk a bit about this project that she's been working on, that's, I think, a fantastic example of the kind of project that UMBC students have been so successful in bringing to the Fulbright Program. So, Maryam, first of all, why don't you tell us a little bit just about your experience at UMBC. Obviously, you're a recent graduate, and I want to know a little bit about your course of study at UMBC, the kinds of research that you did during your time here, and maybe how that informed what you're doing now.

Of course, so coming into UMBC, I decided to be an Anthropology major. I think I was like maybe overzealous I remember coming to Dr. Chapin's office earlier, in the summer before I actually began and was like, very excited about pursuing anthropology. And I knew that I wanted to, you know, hopefully incorporate anthropology into medicine as a career goal of mine. And so I pursued that. As far as the anthropological studies themselves, I can't speak highly enough to the department itself. You guys are talking about the strengths of UMBC students and I think so much of that actually, is rooted in the faculty themselves and the support that they give to their students and just the extensive community. I mean, I can't speak to all the departments because I was part of the anthropology department, but my experience with the anthropology department was very much one of great support and a very tight knit community. And I think that really fostered a lot of my faith in my ability to do research and my faith in the implications of the research that I was doing, and the importance of it. So with that, I actually began doing research with Dr. Chard. Um, she reached out to me, I believe, was my sophomore year, about a project she was doing among the African American elderly community in Baltimore City. And she was exploring diabetes and sort of the overlap with physical activity among the elderly in Baltimore. And so I happily joined on with that. And that was a great experience, really, in just learning how to listen to the people you're interviewing. And seeing a lot of times, people refer to people that they're studying as like subjects, but very much for me, it was listening to just people's stories, and learning what I could from them, and being able to maybe draw from those conversations and create a larger discussion that is more, you know, I guess, targeted to like an academic sort of community. Following that, I also worked with Dr. Jones-Lewis in the ancient medicine, faculty department. And she was really great in just helping me formulate my own sort of project. I did a project with her it was called "Establishing the Contributions of Arab Medical Theorists, " and it was a comparison of Galen and Ibn-Sina, or who he's more, you know, popularly known as Avicenna. So that was my first sort of independent research project, and I presented that at URCAD, my sophomore year, and that sort of created a platform for me to, you know, do more research, especially going into my capstone year. So my junior year, I did a capstone. And I always again, going back to my freshman year, I always wanted to explore the overlap between anthropology and medicine, or maybe just the social sciences and medicine. So with that, I knew that going into my capstone, I wanted to explore something that kind of had those two elements. And I decided to explore "Cupping and Wellness among the Muslim Women in the Baltimore Washington Area." Cupping is a practice that has sort of some medical significance in the Muslim community, and I wanted to explore that as something that's seen, especially in the Western culture, something that's almost more pseudo scientific. And I wanted to see how that sort of impacted perceptions of these Muslim women who do, you know, have, obviously this belief and hegemony but who also are very much part of the American patient population who are seeking health care through these more, you know, conventional pathways. So I did that research for my capstone. And I actually carried that into my honors thesis with the help of Dr. Chapin, who was really great in sort of helping me expand that into a national study. So I was interviewing, I mean, it was to COVID. So I wasn't, you know, traveling and like meeting all these new people, but I was reaching out to people across the country and doing interviews virtually through that. And again, it was a great learning experience to be able to, you know, create these novel sort of methods to approaching research, especially in a time where there were so many like limitations. And so with the hegemony research, I actually, that was what opened up the door to my first Fulbright application. So I applied twice. My first Fulbright application was to Turkey. And you know, with the help, again, of Dr. Chapin, and Dr. Souders, I decided that I wanted to explore cupping, or as it's known in the Muslim community, it's called hijama. So I wanted to explore that in Turkey. Turkey is kind of like the mecca of cupping to many people. And I wanted to expand my research to see you know, how the perceptions maybe differ or how they overlap among the Muslim community in the US and then in Turkey. I did that application. It was, again, great learning experience. I didn't get it. It was disappointing, obviously, for you know, fa ew days. But you know, I didn't know lots of Turkish, there were obviously, you know major weaknesses as far as the language ability as someone who wanted to do anthropological research, you know, hypothetically, interviewing a lot of people. So I decided, you know, going to get over it, maybe apply year after that. And this past, it was October, I hadn't started an application yet. And I received an email from Dr. Sanders, like, "Wwhat are you doing?Where are you?" (laughing) and I actually hadn't, over the course of that year, I hadn't really given too much thought to apply again, because I thought, you know, it's a dead end, I'm not going to be doing cutting research in Turkey. And I hadn't really thought of how I could, you know, create another project within that same sort of, you know, research area, it's like very niche, and I just thought, you know, so that was a dead end. So we'll, you know, move on. But Dr. Souders really gave me that push to be like, No, you have to believe in the goals that you have. And there are so many manifestations of these projects that you can do and you can pursue and you can pursue them successfully. And so with that I changed gear and sort of decided to take my, sort of interests to Kuwait where I do know the language, I do speak Arabic. And I did change the lens of the research that I was doing. So it's still within the framework of medicine and anthropology, but I just shifted it a little bit to explore sort of the trends of obesity among the women, the female population in Kuwait. Did that application and luckily was able to, you know, I'm gonna be able to pursue that opportunity this coming year.

Maryam, will you remind us what that title of your project is?

Yeah. So the project itself is called "Faith, Family, Food, and Fitness: Exploring Trends of Obesity Among Kuwaiti Women."

What a great lesson for our listeners, right? I mean, not only the, the perseverance that you've demonstrated in doing this twice, and obviously, Dr. Souders was pretty instrumental as well, in sort of pushing this along, I think. But obviously, the success that you've seen with this most recent application is also I think, a testament to the incredible volume of research that you did while you were at UMBC. I mean, I think back to my undergraduate experience, and, you know, doing, doing maybe even one of those things would count as sort of a major, major step forward for somebody like me back in the early 2000s. So it seems like, you know, you're really just pushing the envelope here in terms of the amount of research that's possible during an undergraduate degree. But hey, maybe that's just you UMBC? I don't know. I don't know if that's, that's par for the course. Or if, if this is really something something impressive, but I think it's fair to say that this is really cool research. And I think that the Fulbright Program, was was right on to choose this as something to decide to fund in the next year.

One of the things that I think is so impressive about the way that Maryam stuck with this, but didn't like irrad- she wasn't like irradically switching from this to that or doggedly just pursuing one, you know, narrow pathway. You know, in that final project, you hear kind of the threads of other opportunities that she had, not just, it wasn't just, "I did my capstone project, and I'll just keep building on that. That'll be my one little area of expertise." It's like, what are the fundamental questions? What are the questions about how to how, to women, which has been this theme, and in much of her own research, how do people at particular places in the life course, understand their own health, pursue it, craft it, you know, take advantage of different kinds of tools available to them, even if those tools are in different domains of life, whether that's fitness, or biomedicine, or cupping. And then, you know, use them agentively and really tracking that and honoring that process as, as a, as a witness as an analyst, and then amplifying that, and I just, I think that's very impressive. And obviously, it takes a lot of encouragement as well. So, so grateful to have Dr. Souders do that for our students, and not let them just kind of feel like "okay, well, that was it."

So, and thank you for that Dr. Chapin. It's fun, one of the things that I enjoy is, of course, celebrating when our students get these awards. But a lot of the time it is, like this is a nationally competitive award, and I basically think that, in reality that many of our students who do apply who have amazing projects, they still can't get funded, there's simply not enough money for everybody who has an amazing project. So frequently knowing that my job is to sort of encourage students who might have had a great project, but it didn't go forward, like okay, well, let's try it again. Fulbright doesn't care if you apply again, every, every year is a 100% brand new competition cycle. And let's take the lessons you learn from the first time and let's try it again. And it could be a similar project, it could be a slightly different project. And I have found that non insignificant number of people who didn't get it the first time around if they apply the second time around, and usually get it. So that makes me very, very happy to be able to celebrate that victory with them.

You one of the things that makes me confident about encouraging students to think about applying for the Fulbright, and for other kinds of opportunities like this, given all the support that we have. I know that most of them won't get it, and yet I think there's something valuable to be learned along the way. And so I wonder, I wonder Dr. Souders and Mayryam, could you speak about like, you know, Maryam, if you didn't get it, what you would have learned that what you could have still benefited from and Dr. Souders, what do you see people taking away who don't get these projects? What happens? What happens along the way?

I can speak to my experience having not gotten the Fulbright the first time. I think that it really forced me to really formulate a full idea of a research project from start to finish. I think that for most of my undergraduate experience, I was either just part of an ongoing project that was being done or I was sort of just going with the flow of research that I was doing. And I hadn't, I had never really had to give a full synopsis of what I was doing from start to finish, especially before I had started the research. So especially I think in the social science, I mean with, you know, like more biomedicine or the biomedical field, you can easily sort of chart what you're going to do and what you expect the results to be. With social sciences, because, you know, you're working with people and not like, you know, more predictable things, it can be kind of difficult to give a full sort of, I guess, outline of what you plan to do, and what you expect to get as an outcome. So I think that the Fulbright experience, especially doing all that writing, I learned a great deal about sort of, you know, being ambitious with your research goals, but also being able to frame them in a way that is feasible. And that is, you know, something that can be funded and something that can be, you know, supported by people who are maybe not fully experts, but who do understand sort of what can be expected from that research project, in, in and of itself, they can sort of gauge whether it's feasible or unfeasible. So that was definitely a huge learning process for me. And with the personal statement too, learning how to talk about oneself, there's always something that I think, even you know, with the icebreakers in undergrad and you know, beyond sort of knowing how to present yourself, without being cocky, and without, you know, sort of denigrating the work that you've already done, I think was also a great learning experience. And I would do it, I'm probably gonna be doing it over and over again. So that was a great first go at it.

To follow up on Maryam's point. Yeah, fully, probably, two thirds of our students who apply aren't going to get it. And I do surveys of students after they've gone through the process. And it's, "what kinds of things did you gain from this? Did you feel that this process was worthwhile?" And overwhelmingly, they tell me, "Absolutely." They found the ways to be able to talk at a non expert level about their research to a broad audience. They were able to come out of this and be able to tell their story, their personal story as to what got them interested in whatever it is that they plan to research. Some have said, "Well, yeah, I didn't, I didn't get the award, but then I used 90% of what I wrote, I used it for my grad school applications and I got a fully funded doctoral program to do this," or "I have been able to use this and get a scholarship to do something else. So I've gained this lifelong skill that is going to be able to help me to do you know, applying for jobs, applying for other other educational or other funding opportunities down the line." So it's very much if you don't get it, it's a transferable skill. And if you, and if you decide that you want to continue on with this global opportunity, hey, apply again, I'm more than happy to work with you. And Fulbright is more than happy to read your application again, and hopefully give it a favorable review the second time around.

You know, one of the things that I love seeing students do as they work through the Fulbright process that I think is valuable for everyone is to really imagine a future that is ambitious, that is adventurous, that, that really you're crafting yourself. And even if you don't do it in this exact way, I feel like having that, having people take that seriously. Getting yourself to take that seriously and to change like this sort of big fantasy into a real practical plan, that then, you know, you may or may not do that exact practical plan, but what are the parts of it you like? What are you going to craft for yourself, and I feel like that in and of itself can be incredibly valuable for people.

So often I have students who are so confused about the big picture of their research and of their long term sort of goals. I had a student of mine a few semesters ago who, one of my very favorite students would always come to me say "Dr. Anson, Dr. Anson help I'm lost in the sauce." And I always think of that phrase that he would use all the time "lost in the sauce" as as a great sort of example of sort of where students often are when they're thinking about their research and their futures. And it sounds to me like this Fulbright application experience is a great way to emerge from the sauce unscathed, right? And really start to get a feel, as we've said, right, not just for the trajectory of maybe our career path or of our sort of professionalization in research, but also just of thinking about the broadest ideas that we care the most about, right. Maryam, it seems like you know, the your journey that you've described here, you know, the various research projects that you've pursued at UMBC and beyond have really helped to shape kind of an overarching passion for very specific topics that you can study in a variety of different ways, and I think that that really is the hallmark of a really mature researcher and something that is really commendable.

Thanks. It's not to say that I haven't been lost in the sauce ever (laughter), there's a lot of sauce. But yeah, it's definitely been incredible to be part of so many, I mean, it's not to say that I don't, I haven't been, I think part of a great, diverse sort of, you know, body of work. But I think that I've been able, I hope that I've been able, to establish sort of like Dr. Chapin said, a through line with the projects that I've been lucky enough to be a part of, and been lucky enough to pursue. And hopefully, that sort of shows, hopefully, yeah.

You know, one of the things that I think is so great about the Fulbright opportunity, for those who receive these fellowships in whatever that is, whether it's research or teaching or or, or studying is, is really a chance to engage internationally. You know, our, so much of our work is relevant to and drawn from and engaged with a global community of scholars, of people, right. And yet, when we think about what you're going to do after school, it's often pretty practical, pretty close to home. And this is really a chance to imagine something larger. And, you know, one of the things that I would go back and tell myself as an undergrad, and I really want for our undergrads is to learn the languages, right? To learn something that you can really use. And, you know, I think, part of what Maryam discovered is that she put together a really bangin' project first to go around, but she doesn't really speak Turkish, right? So you can't really, how are you, you know, are the people going to take a chance that you're going to be able to learn it on the fly? That the kind of crash courses are going to be helpful? I was lucky that people trusted that I'd be able to do that with Sinhala in Sri Lanka, so it can work. But it is, you know, we have these language requirements. And I think students sometimes see them as a sort of stumbling block, rather than a real opportunity to prepare to do some international engagement and some engagement at home as well.

I would love to share my favorite story of the first student that I ever worked with on a Fulbright. So before I actually became UMBC's Fulbright Program Advisor, it was a, a guy who kind of came to UMBC as a, he was a humanities scholar. So it was an American Studies, and he, American Studies major. His research project came from his semester that he spend in Buenos Aires in Argentina, and when so we work back and forth. And I at that point, kind of knew what I was doing as a Fulbright advisor, but coached him through the process. And when he got it his, he left, he shared with me that the story of his when he told his aunt, who was kind of his cheerleader in the background, say, and her response to this was "Jack! Your life, it's going to be so different now." And it was. So he had this amazing experience, came back, got admitted to an anthropology doctoral program at some place, you may have heard of the University of Chicago. And just, and I actually was thrilled this past May to attend virtually his dissertation defense. So now Dr. Mullee is off to do whatever it is that PhDs in anthropology from the University of Chicago do.

Such great anecdotes and, you know, I really think that this whole conversation has hopefully served to encourage our audience to think about perhaps applying to the Fulbright in the future, but also for those who are maybe not in a position to to apply. It's really again, think broadly about their future research endeavors and all the exciting things they might be able to do, given a little bit of thought about their through line, as Maryam put it so well. Maryam, before we let you go, why don't you tell us a little bit about the practical details of the project. So, when do you leave, and when will we be able to wish you off with,with fanfare?

Funny you say that because I'm actually still not sure exactly when I'm leaving. I'm currently in talks with obviously lots of people at the US Embassy in Kuwait, and with the professor who has been kind enough to help me get an affiliation through the Kuwait University. We're thinking sometime mid to late September is when I'll be leaving, because that's when universities reopen in Kuwait. As far as the practical details of the project, I'm hoping I mean, I doubt it'll go exactly as I've planned it, but I'm hoping to you know, just get to Kuwait maybe settle for a couple of weeks before you know really getting out, checking out the universities there, or not the universities but you know, the students who attend the universities there. Get to know some of hopefully the places that I can access as field sites for my research, you know. Might be going to some gyms, checking out some, you know, libraries where, you know, groups might be meeting to sort of talk about their approaches to health and well being, you know, getting to know some people who can hopefully help me, you know, be a part of their stories and contribute to a larger body of work that can hopefully, you know, bring us to a better healthcare provisions for, you know, people of all different backgrounds and cultures. But um, yeah, hopefully, hopefully, I'll have a final date for leaving because that's, you know, a big part of the itinerary. But yeah, that's generally the overarching goal for me to be able to, you know, go September arrive 10 months later, so June, the following year, yeah.

Well, Maryam, I'm sure that I speak for both of our esteemed panelists and all of our listeners, in wishing you the very best on this project. We're very excited to see what what happens next. And hopefully, you'll be able to come back in a little over a year, and we'll be able to talk about what you found, and hopefully some really great experiences.

Thank you so much. I hope so as well.

And thank you so much, Dr. Chapin and Dr. Souders, for telling us so much about the Fulbright Program at UMBC.

My pleasure, thank you. Thank you for the opportunity.

Absolutley.

Campus Connections, campus connections, campus connections, campus connections, campus connections, campus connections.

Now it's time for Campus Connections, a part of the podcast where we connect today's feature to other work happening at UMBC. Today, I'm turning things over to Sophia, who's been learning about some of the other great Fulbright sponsored projects that UMBC social science students have undertaken in recent times. I'm really excited to learn about more of these awesome students, Sophia. What did you find out?

In this week's installment of Campus Connections, we're covering three more amazing social science research projects that will be going international in the coming year. First off is the work of recent alumni Adrianna-Marie Urbina-Ruiz. Urbina-Ruiz graduated in 2021 with a degree in mathematics and a Master of Arts in Teaching with a focus on secondary education. She will be spending her Fulbright year in Colombia, simultaneously teaching students English and creating a collaborative online international learning program. The goal of this program is to connect students at her host university with students in Maryland. Aside from furthering their education, her work strives to uplift Hispanic students and academic spaces. Caleb Jacobson graduated in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Global Studies, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Sociology. He set to graduate UMBC in 2023, and will leave for El Salvador shortly after to begin his Fulbright research. He plans to study the country's transition to peace post-conflict with a focus on human rights. Finally, social science Fulbright's weren't just awarded to students, but to UMBC faculty as well. Tiffany Thames Copeland, a professor in the Africana Studies Department, will study the modern African diaspora in Ghana, specifically those who returned to the country in the 21st century Back to Africa movement. Her research will focus on the experience of these returnees as well as their impacts on globalization, culture, and the fight for liberation.

Thanks, Sophia for that great review. It sounds like these students have asked and answered some fantastic social science questions in recent times. I hope you are as inspired as I am by these success stories and that you keep questioning.

Retrieving the Social Sciences is a production of the UMBC's Center for Social Science Scholarship. Our director is Dr. Christine Mallinson, our Associate Director is Dr. Felipe Filomeno, and our production intern is Jefferson Rivas. Our theme music was composed and recorded by D'Juan Moreland. Find out more about CS3 at socialscience.umbc.edu and make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, where you can find full video recordings of recent UMBC events. Until next time, keep questioning.