Opening Doors to the Future: A Personal Reflection

In academic terms, the Kosciuszko Foundation fellowships are a very rare opportunity to meet world-class experts, visit leading universities, focus on your research, have access to new sources (e.g., National Archives) or state of the art labs. However, the fellowship is much more than just research, teaching or learning. It is about visiting the National Mall and the African-American Museum, venturing through New York’s Chelsea galleries guided by Józefina Chętko, an incredibly talented young Polish sculptor and a fellow Kosciuszko Foundation alumna. It is about eating a hot dog in Central Park, listening to some fine music in Blues Alley, one of the oldest jazz clubs in the US. It is about venturing to the Pacific Northwest for a long weekend and drinking some of America’s most loved coffee while listening to great rock music in Seattle. It’s about marveling at art collections in Smithsonian museums, and at street art along the U Street in DC. It’s about meeting people, exchanging views, gaining new perspectives, and experiencing the country. I can also see how vital our alumni network is. Among the scholarship holders are people representing many academic and cultural institutions and diverse fields. People who are open-minded, interested in the world, who share the values represented by Tadeusz Kościuszko, the patron of the Foundation and who want to make their contribution to strengthening bonds between Poland and the US. I encourage and cordially invite all of the alumni to join our association! I genuinely believe that the added value of the fellowship is equally important to the research we pursue. The Kosciuszko Foundation scholarships are, in fact, part of public diplomacy efforts aimed at enhancing collaboration between Poland and the US – in academia and beyond.