Although Alicia Barbas, a senior at U of I, grew up in Crystal Lake, Ill., she often traveled to Spain where most of her family lives from year to year.
Having grown up speaking Spanish (both parents are high school Spanish teachers), she came to campus with the intention to double major in Spanish and French. She studied French in high school and was exposed to Spanish literature from a young age.
Upon entry to Illinois, her intention was to become a high school foreign language teacher.
“But after talking to some mentors, like Professor (Ann) Abbott, I decided to take some Global Studies courses, after which I wanted to explore more careers and subjects in international work instead.”
Barbas says she likes the interdisciplinary nature of her majors, which allows her to look at global issues through different lenses like political science, anthropology and geography. This crossover of subject matter also allowed her to complete all three majors in four years.
She also spent one semester on study abroad in Barcelona, plus a summer study abroad in Arles, France.
In Barcelona, “one thing that was quite different was my exposure to the Catalan independence movement and the Catalan language itself, which I had always heard about but never learned first-hand.”
In Arles, “I followed my love for travel in a way that allowed me to discover a new region.”
She said that her main goal was to improve her level of French and experience living in France. “It was through misunderstandings and kind interactions with my host family and professors that I learned the most,” she noted. “Whether it was attending the weekend markets, becoming a regular at local restaurants, eating cheese at every meal before dessert, or spontaneously driving to a historic beach with my host mom, I fell more in love with the spirit of France.
“It taught me that no matter my level of French, language is simply an avenue for human connection."
All of these experiences helped lead Barbas to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship for graduate study.
In applying for the Fulbright Scholarship, in April and May of 2019 she began to consider potential programs. By the end of August she submitted her full application, including a personal statement, a statement of grant purpose, and three recommendations from professors. The following month she completed her in-person interview with the campus Fulbright committee, which sent her application to the national committee in October. In mid-December 2019, she was notified that she had been selected as a semifinalist. Then, more waiting.
Finally, she was notified at the end of February this year that she had been offered the Fulbright award to complete a Master’s in European and International Studies at CY Cergy-Paris University in Cergy, France.
Why Cergy? “It seemed like a great fit because it would allow me to live in France and understand more about the European Union and its role around the world,” she said. “Since Paris is such an international city and since the program offers the opportunity to complete an internship as well as "Euro Conferences", it’s a great place to start a career at an international organization or non-profit.”
And after all that waiting, what was her reaction when she finally found out she won the award? “It felt surreal—all of this hard work I had put in had finally paid off. This had always felt like a big, far-reaching dream for me, especially since ‘Fulbright’ is so competitive, but this achievement made me realize that hard work, perseverance, passion, and belief in yourself can help you reach those dreams.”