Caribbean recipients of the prestigious U.S. Fulbright Scholarships will share their experiences throughout November in Facebook chats hosted by the United States Embassy to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

The chats, on the U.S. Embassy’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/USEmbassyBarbados), started last Thursday with Vincentian Fulbright Scholar Maxine Browne and Barbadian Fulbright alumna Stephanie Alleyne-Bishop.

During the chat, Alleyne-Bishop who attained her Master’s degree in Communications from Ohio University spoke highly of her Fulbright experience, saying she had “made lifelong friends through the Fulbright program” and noting that “the greatest moments happened outside the classroom.”

She said that though “the application process was complex”, it was “worth it in the end” and urged Caribbean residents interested in pursuing postgraduate studies to apply for the scholarship as she did. She acknowledged the assistance of the Embassy staff in helping applicants through the process.

“Preparing for the GRE exams are not as difficult as they seem and the U.S Embassy at Bridgetown were very helpful with the preparation process,” said Alleyne-Bishop.

Public Affairs Officer Rebecca Ross said of the initiative:

“We see these live chat events as a way to let more people know about the many scholarship opportunities which the Embassy offers. We think that hearing about it first hand from Caribbean people like themselves who have benefited from it is a good way to encourage more people to apply.”

There are five more chats scheduled for the month, with the next one set for Thursday, November 10th at 2 p.m. The chat will be about the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship for mid-career professionals and Antiguan Humphrey Fellow Morvin Williams will talk about his experience.

During International Education Week (November 14-18), there will be three online chats. On November 15th, student visas will be in focus with an Embassy consular officer online to discuss the application process. On November 16th, all are invited to learn about Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) from Embassy officers Kristin Mencer and Joia Starks who are alumna of prestigious HBCUs. November 17th will see the return of another Caribbean Fulbright scholar, with Dominican Claudius Sanford, a lecturer at the Dominica State College, online to discuss the Fulbright Faculty Development Scholarship, which focuses on educating educators.

The final chat for the month will be on November 23rd where an officer of the Embassy’s Public Diplomacy office, which administers the scholarships, will be online to answer questions about available scholarships including those for mid-career professionals, educators and for local colleges to bring in U.S. scholars and experts.