In this blog post, I review Thomas Burns’ guide to the Fulbright U.S. student program, a book that was recommended to me at a Fulbright information meeting years ago. My copy is now full of notes and dog-eared pages. I share a handful of helpful takeaways and my favorite features of the book:

The world’s largest and most diverse international exchange program, Fulbright has produced Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, politicians, ambassadors, CEOs, professors, and university presidents. Additionally, among Fulbright’s ranks are some of the United States’ most celebrated performers, composers, and artists. Keep reading to find a few names you might recognize.

Ask anyone who has applied for a Fulbright award, and they will tell you it is an arduous journey. The waiting period alone is six months, from the yearly October deadline to award announcement the following spring. The entire application process can easily add up to a year or more. In today’s blog post, I pull back the curtain to reflect on my own years-long timeline to a Fulbright award:

Today, I’m replying to a question from an Instagram Q&A: What (if any) challenges are unique to Mexican piano repertoire? Later in my grant year, I may revisit the question to see if my answer has evolved or expanded. For now, I list three challenges:

¡Felices fiestas patrias, que viva México! On Mexico’s Independence Day, I reflect on watching the military parade process down Avenida Reforma and about the highs and lows of moving abroad.

This is one of the most common questions I get when discussing my Fulbright grant. It’s a good question, considering there are 20 Spanish-speaking countries worldwide, each with unique folk, classical, and popular music traditions. With so many countries to choose from, here are four reasons I chose North America: