Fulbright alumni help welcome newcomers to New Zealand

Newly-arrived American Fulbright grantees at Waiwhetū marae

With the help of several of its esteemed alumni, Fulbright New Zealand recently welcomed to New Zealand a cohort of 19 new American grantees of the Fulbright US student and scholar programmes, Ian Axford Fellowships and Eisenhower Fellowships.

The group were introduced to New Zealand's history, culture, politics and environment through a week-long Orientation programme including lectures and visits to significant sites around the Wellington area including Te Papa museum, Waiwhetū marae, Otari-Wilton's Bush nature reserve and Parliament.

This year's Orientation programme included a greater involvement of alumni from the Fulbright programme's almost 60 years of operation in New Zealand. Fulbright alumnus Jock Phillips, General Editor of Te Ara - the online encyclopedia of New Zealand, gave the group an introductory lecture on New Zealand history, noting key dates in the country's history and the evolution of our national identity. He also treated the group to a sneak preview of yet-to-be-unveiled new content on the Te Ara website.

Fellow Fulbright alumnus John Dawson, who gained his PhD in Botany for the University of California at Berkerley in the 1950s, took the group on a tour of Otari-Wilton's Bush, introducing them to the many unique features of New Zealand's native flora. American alumna Alison Arnold, who since gaining her Masters in Environmental Science from Victoria University of Wellington as a Fulbright US Graduate Student in 2000 has worked for the Department of Conservation and WWF, shared her hands-on experience working on New Zealand's most pressing environmental issues for the past five years.

Another highlight of the week was being hosted at Parliament by Harkness Fellowships alumnus and Labour Party MP Shane Jones. Shane spoke of his own life-changing fellowship experience and his road to Parliament, and along with Victoria University of Wellington lecturer Jon Johansson explained New Zealand's political system, topical issues and future directions for the country.

Fulbright's Orientation programme aims to deliver once-in-a-lifetime experiences to newly-arrived grantees in order to immerse them into life in New Zealand. The group also experienced a rare behind the scences tour of Te Papa museum's New Zealand art and Māori taonga collections, and were treated to a pōwhiri and overnight stay at Waiwhetū marae, which is always a high point of the programme. The diverse group of grantees are now settling in to their homes and host institutions around the country, where they will study, research and teach for up to a year.

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