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Himalaya |
Nepal provided an exceptional experience for Mark Hildebrandt, associate professor at Southern Illinois University—Edwardsville’s Department of Geography. Hildebrandt’s seven-month grant gave him the opportunity to lecture and research at Kathmandu University.
At the university, Hildebrandt found the students welcoming and enthusiastic, and his colleagues very accommodating. The Fulbright Scholar taught courses in meteorology/climatology to third-year undergraduates, developed hands-on teaching materials demonstrating meteorological processes, and conducted extensive research in meteorology/climatology.
He went to Nepal hoping to stretch the boundaries of his intellect and to challenge his
own ability to adapt and succeed in new situations. With these goals in mind, Hildebrandt immersed himself in the local community and participated in numerous community-based cultural activities, most notably the Nar-Phu Community Picnic. He was also interviewed by newspapers and appeared on Nepali television as a Fulbright Scholar.
Through his Fulbright experience, Hildebrandt re-awakened his love for teaching and his enthusiasm for the scholarly community.
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Hildebrandt with students |
“My Fulbright experience has been a life-altering event. I am as happy as I have ever been,” said Hildebrandt. “At my home institution in Illinois, I had become embittered, demoralized and in a professional funk. Sure, I was doing a fine job in my teaching but I was bored, and I found that my research had stalled. I was not doing what I wanted to do, and not enough of what I enjoyed doing.”
Hildebrandt’s time in Nepal can be described as an invigorating one. He was not only able to further his work in developing discussion in contemporary environmental issues at multiple spatial scales, but he was also able to ignite his passion for lecturing
and research.
“In Nepal, I have gained a renewed and refreshed interest in my professional life. I enjoy teaching,” continues Hildebrandt. “I give credit to a mere change in location and to the effervescent undergraduates at Kathmandu University. They have shown an appreciation and enthusiasm for knowledge that I had not often experienced. To them I am most grateful.”
“My research interests, which provide the fuel for my intellectual fire, have been renewed by my time in Nepal and in Pakistan,” Hildebrandt explains. “I have tasted the sweet and pleasant flavor of what I have been looking for since graduate school.”
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Hildebrandt with students |
“I absolutely loved what I was doing in Nepal,” he said. “It brings an easy, serene smile to my face. I have come to love Nepal more than I thought possible.”
Having returned from his Fulbright Scholar experience with such renewed energy, Hildebrandt has brought back to his classrooms at Southern Illinois University—Edwardsville many enriching experiences to share with both his fellow faculty members and his students.
He plans to perform cross-disciplinary lectures at the university and outreach talks within the greater St. Louis metropolitan region. He remains in contact with his new friends and colleagues in Nepal, and is working on establishing an exchange program between his home and host institutions.
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