Fulbright scholarships are regarded as prestigious global scholarship programmes. The scholarships do not represent a monolith and are of many different types, with FLTA or Foreign Language Teaching Assistant programme being notable among them. The FLTA programme is sponsored by the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). It aims to equip young teachers of English as a Foreign Language with a more holistic approach to teaching and making them acquainted with various aspects of American culture and customs.
Masura Kamal Peuly is a Fulbright FLTA scholar for the academic years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. Her journey is quite inspiring because she didn't make it to the scholarship at first but instead got into the programme on the second attempt. In her own words: "I first applied for this programme in 2018. Back then, I only had full-time teaching experience of a few months. The application process is very rigorous, and I just wanted to accustom myself to the procedure and know my shortcomings to prepare better in the future. To my utter disbelief, I was one of that year's four shortlisted potential candidates. I didn't receive the FLTA award that year but being shortlisted as the youngest professional gave me the confidence to apply again next year."
She again applied in 2019, this time having a full year of teaching experience. She opted for the programme despite criticisms from many people who thought she was not eligible for the scholarship. She talked about her second time application, "This time too, I was the youngest and the least experienced one among all the shortlisted candidates. I did my best and left the rest in the hands of the Almighty. Within a few days, I came to know I am the principal candidate for the academic year 2020-21. I was appointed an FLTA at Indiana University-Bloomington. I was thrilled and was preparing to go to Indiana, but at the last moment, I learnt that due to Covid, classes at IU would be online that semester. Therefore, I was teaching at IU over Zoom, managing 10 hours difference from Dhaka."
Her experience as a Fulbright FLTA scholar has helped her grow as a person. She said in this regard, "Every day was a new day for me. Every day I tried to do something different that I had never done before. I said 'yes' to as many things as possible. I volunteered at music fests, cultural fests, conferences, translation work, and even taught Bangla at an elementary school for a semester. People of our country tend to think that anything done outside of studies is a waste of time. That is not true. Recreation is not a waste of time, and it's important to have time to do things that you love and make you happy."
She also added, "I was one of the eight FLTAs appointed at IU for academic year 21-22. All eight of us were from eight different countries. My FLTA colleagues were from Thailand, Tanzania, Myanmar, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan. We were English teachers back in our respective countries but came to IU to teach our respective mother languages. Working with my fellow FLTAs, I got the opportunity to learn about their culture and beliefs. I also got to learn about their education system."
Debunking the notion that it's pointless to get into a non-degree programme, she mentioned, "Yes, FLTA is a non-degree programme, but besides teaching, the programme allows auditing two courses per semester free of cost. Learning is not always about obtaining a degree. In Bangladesh, we often focus only on obtaining degrees. Degrees are important but gaining experience is equally important, if not more. Particularly for the education sector, it's crucial to have hands-on knowledge of making teaching and learning more effective and enjoyable."
She has many words of encouragement to the new applicants applying for the programme.
"Anyone out there planning to apply for a scholarship or pursue their dreams, never doubt your capability. Put in the hard work required and leave the rest to fate. There's a saying that fate is when opportunity meets preparation. Yes, Fulbright is competitive, but it's not impossible. I fought against all odds to obtain this award, and also, I was the only FLTA representing Bangladesh in the United States for two academic years 20-21 and 21-22. I started from rejection. Failures in life are opportunities to become your best version, so embrace your failures and allow them to be your guide," added Masura Kamal Peuly.
The writer is studying Economics at the University of Dhaka.
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