Central Virginia Chapter / Fulbright Association

27/09/2025

At its fall meeting on Thursday, the Central Virginia Chapter of the Fulbright Association welcomed Fulbrighters from Argentina, Lebanon, Turkey and Germany, and Jefferson Rodriguez, a Fulbrighter from Costa Rica, gave a presentation on his work at U.Va.

As Fred Borch, the chapter's president, said on Friday, "I think we can all agree that last night was one of our BEST events ever -- thanks to a phenomenal presentation by our favorite Costa Rican Fulbrighter and also some wonderful food and drink and socializing."

31/12/2024

Congratulations to Central Virginia Chapter member Jim Arnold, Professor Emeritus (French) at the University of Virginia, on receiving a Fulbright Specialist Program award for a project in Bangladesh.

Prof. Arnold receives Fulbright Specialist award FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: 11/13/2024 Contact: ECA Press Office Telephone: 202-632-6445 Albert James Arnold Jr. Receives Fulbright Specialist Award to Bangladesh at Dhaka University The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship B...

01/11/2024

Meet another of our 2024-25 Fulbrighters -- Slenka Botello

Slenka is a Colombian Fulbright Scholar and first-year PhD student in the Department of Art and Architectural History at UVA Charlottesville. She holds an M.A. in Art Studies from Ibero University in Mexico City and a BA in History from the National University of Colombia.

Her research interests focus on feminist art history in Latin America, and she is particularly interested in examining how the new narratives of feminist art are transforming art history and curatorial practices in Colombia. Her previous research experience has focused on the category of “monstrosity” to analyze European travelers’ representations of indigenous South Americans from a decolonial perspective.

She has also analyzed the place of demonic and sinful bodies in 18th-century Jesuit Mexican and Colombian art. With a background in art-based research and teaching art history to artists, as well as a deep love for DIY zine projects, Slenka is excited to contribute to the vibrant academic community in Charlottesville and Virginia.

You'll find more information about current and past Fulbrighters, as well as info about the Central Virginia Chapter of the Fulbright Association, on our website:

21/10/2024

Introducing our Fulbrighters for 2024-25. First up: *Orsolya Heidenwolf*

"I am from Hungary and currently studying as a Visiting Student Researcher at Virginia Tech College of Engineering Myers-Lawson School of Construction. Here my research is focusing on to understand what are the best technologies that can help the construction industry to be a more effective industry.

"I finished my undergraduate studies and Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Civil Engineering. Then I studied at Istanbul Technical University and also finished my MBA at Budapest. Currently I am working on my PhD dissertation in the field of Business Informatics and my research is focusing on the Construction Industry Digital Transformation at Corvinus University of Budapest."

You'll find more information about current and past Fulbrighters, as well as info about the Central Virginia Chapter of the Fulbright Association, on our website:

https://centralvirginia.fulbrightchapters.org/

23/09/2024

Our website has a full report -- with more photos -- on last week's fall mixer at the University of Virginia:

https://centralvirginia.fulbrightchapters.org/upcoming-events/2024-fall-mixer/

30/03/2024

We had a great turnout yesterday at our spring Fulbright event here on the grounds of the Univ. of Virginia. We met at 5 PM in a UVA seminar room right by the Rotunda (if you know UVA).

We first had our ANNUAL Board Meeting -- and since everyone on the board was elected or re-elected last year, we are good until 31 March 2025. We plan on doing four events in the 2024-2025 academic year and also launch some advocacy initiatives to benefit Fulbright.

Then we had a social hour -- food and drink -- before having a presentation from our two Argentine Fulbrighters who are both lawyers and whom are both pursuing LLMs at UVA's law school. They talked about criminal law reforms in Argentina. Very very interesting and only about 30 minutes!

-- Fred Borch
Chapter President

25/01/2024

We will have our final event for the academic year on Thursday March 28 in Hotel A (on the grounds of UVA near the Rotunda) at 5 PM. All chapter members and all Fulbrighters past and present are invited.

Our Argentine Fulbrighter, Agos Giaroli, who is earning her LLM at UVA's law school, will talk to us about being a government attorney in Argentina and her studies here at UVA. Please come hear Agos!

We will have food and drink and plenty of time for socializing after Agos talks.

See you there!

Any questions -- you can txt me at 434.760.1901 (or call me).

We also will have our Board Meeting at 4:30 PM on March 28 to discuss the 2024-25 calendar and conduct other chapter business. Nominations for chapter officers are due at the end of March -- more to follow on this after I check with the Fulbright Association in Washington, D.C.

All the best,

Fred Borch
President, Central Virginia Chapter

24/10/2023

Introducing Fulbrighter Manuela D'Ávila:

Manuela is a Brazilian journalist with a Master's degree in Public Policy and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Public Policy at UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul). Her research focuses on examining violence and freedom as catalysts for Brazilian internet regulation. Manuela has served as the youngest city councilor in Porto Alegre, as well as the most-voted federal and state deputy in Brazil. In 2018, she ran for vice president of the country, making it to the second round of the election where she competed against Jair Bolsonaro. She founded the "E Se Fosse Você? Institute," aimed at combating disinformation, gender violence, and hate speech. She has published four books: "Revolución Laura", "Por que lutamos? um livro sobre amor e liberdade" (also translated into Spanish) "E Se Fosse Você? Surviving hate networks and fake news" and "Somos as palavras que usamos". She is also the organizer and author of the Collections "Sempre foi sobre nós: relatos da violência política de gênero no Brasil", and "Rede de Mentiras e de ódio: e se o alvo fosse você?", both with Spanish translations.

18/10/2023

Introducing Fulbrighter Marvin Nicholas Michael Hirt:

Marvin is from Munich, Germany, currently attending the Master of Public Policy (MPP) program at the Batten School.

He graduated from the University of Applied Sciences of the State of Bavaria in 2018 with a Diploma in Public Law and Public Management. Furthermore, he is studying law for public administration (LL.M.) at the Berlin School of Economics and Law since 2021. His areas of interest include urban affairs, policymaking process, and public law. Following graduation, he worked for the City of Munich, Germany, as a executive officer for the Department of Housing and Migration in the area of misappropriation of living space and protection of citizens from gentrification.

Marvin is curious about the U.S. culture as well as its wonderful people. In his home country, he enjoys hiking in the Alps and hopes to explore the wonderful nature and landscape in the US as well. One of his other interests is architecture.

16/10/2023

Introducing Fulbrighter Luciana Mariel Alberio. She is from Buenos Aires (Argentina) and is teaching at Virginia State University.

I have a BA in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language and I am the current Fulbright FLTA scholar in Virginia State University for the Academic Year 2023-2024. I have experience teaching English to students in Argentina of different age ranges (covering Kindergarten, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary level). My current duties as a Foreign Language Teaching Assistant include teaching a course of Elementary Spanish I, participating in the weekly meetings of the Spanish Conversation Club, spending time in the Office for International Education and giving Spanish tutoring. Moreover, I serve as a cultural ambassador of Argentina, which is why I am dedicated to the diffusion of not only my native language (Spanish) but also the customs, idiosyncrasy and history of my country. Also, as part of my Fulbright scholarship, I am allowed to take 2 courses per semester in my host university. For this Fall term, I chose “American Literature I” and “The teaching of English in Secondary School”, both of which I find very interesting. During my stay here in USA, I hope to not only get to know places and people (both native and foreign like me) but also acquire knowledge and experiences that enrich my life from every point of view (professional, personal, etc.)

In the attached photo, you can see me wearing an Argentina T-shirt as part of a movie night event at Virginia State University in which I was the host. Within the celebrations for Hispanic Heritage Month, and together with the Languages and Literature Department, we screened the Argentinian film “La Odisea de los Giles” (“Heroic Losers”), and had some typical meals from my country. Both students and teachers shared a nice evening, and I was also able to talk about the Argentinian historical context in which the film takes place.

11/10/2023

On Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, the Central Virginia Chapter of the Fulbright Association will host a joint event with the Charlottesville Committee on Foreign Relations (CCFR). It will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Glenmore Country Club near Charlottesville.

Here is the approximate timetable for the event:

* 6 p.m. — Cocktail hour. Cash bar.
* 7 p.m. — Dinner. Chicken, fish, vegetarian (details forthcoming)
* 7:45 p.m. — A talk by a Fulbrighter, likely about U.S. foreign policy issues with China.
* 8:30 p.m. — Finish

The cost of the dinner is expected to be about $50 per person. (The event is free for all Fulbright students.)

To RSVP, please email the chapter’s president, Fred Borch at frederic.l.borch.civ@army.mil.

11/10/2023

Introducing Fulbrighter Hoang Ho:

Hoang is from Vietnam, currently pursuing an MS in Business with a focus on Branding & Copywriting at the VCU Brandcenter. With eight years of experience in multinational advertising firms like Ogilvy, Dentsu, and Publicis, he represented Vietnam at the 2019 Cannes Lions, the world's premier advertising festival in France. Hoang is passionate about leveraging advertising's creative and attention-grabbing power to address social issues, particularly in healthcare and sustainability, where he has spearheaded impactful campaigns in his home country. Beyond his "Mad Men" dream in the U.S., Hoang loves immersing himself in America's natural beauty through hiking and visiting national parks.