WCU faculty, staff visit Hungary through Fulbright Commission
Ingrid Bego (center) and Wes Milner (back right) with fellow Appalachian university representatives
By Julia Duvall
Earlier this summer, Ingrid Bego, director of International Studies at Western Carolina University, and Wes Milner, executive director of WCU Global, were invited by the Fulbright Commission to attend a week-long visit in Hungary to strengthen the partnership between universities in Appalachia and Hungarian higher education institutions.
Bego and Milner were part of a group of 10 representatives from other regional higher education institutions, including East Tennessee State University, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Louisville.
鈥淭he idea behind this collaborative trip is to strengthen the relationships between universities in Appalachia and the Hungarian Fulbright Commission,鈥� Bego said. 鈥淭here are lots of connections between Hungary and the U.S. but not many between universities in our region and Hungarian universities.鈥�
During their visit, Bego and Milner learned about Hungarian folk culture and folk art, went on city tours, visited the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and many other places around Hungary.
鈥淐onnecting Appalachian folk to Hungarian folk was a big part of strengthening these partnerships,鈥� Bego said. 鈥淪o, in the future, we hope to be able to connect Fulbright scholars with our Mountain Heritage Center and our WCU Cherokee Center. Fulbright is all about promoting culture and we were able to talk about future cultural collaborations and some of the similar issues faced.鈥�
Milner was also excited to engage with several universities across Hungary for future collaborations.
"We were thrilled to engage with the Hungarian American Fulbright Commission and investigate opportunities for collaboration with WCU students, faculty and staff,鈥� Milner said. 鈥淢eeting with several diverse universities across Hungary helped to identify similarities with WCU that will foster global partnerships across majors and disciplines. We are very appreciative to the Executive Director, Dr. K谩roly J贸kay, and the incredible Fulbright staff for making this possible."
Bego is hopeful that this continued relationship with Fulbright will lay the foundation for future WCU students to apply for awards.
鈥淲e have a strong faculty scholar base, and we are excited to increase our student Fulbright applications,鈥� Bego said. 鈥淲e just had a student, McKenzie Yazan, who is a member of the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band, apply for a Fulbright award to study at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, so I am excited to continue to see these full-circle moments.鈥�
