A Fulbright Does Not End When the Program Ends
By Dr. Kevin Quigley
Kevin Quigley has served three times as a Fulbright Specialist in Thailand, at Ubon Ratchathani University, Kamphaeng Phet Rajabhat University, and Thaksin University. He cofounded Fulbright Chronicles and serves on the Fulbright Association Board.
A Fulbright appointment may have an end date. Its influence does not. Long after the program concludes and the journey home is complete, the people we meet continue to reshape our lives. My own Fulbright story is the story of those enduring connections—and of how one encounter can open the door to another, across decades and continents.
My journey began in the 1990s, while I was working at the Pew Charitable Trusts. I was invited to an intimate dinner honoring Senator J. William Fulbright, and the host graciously seated me beside him. It was an extraordinary opportunity: I asked why he had created the Fulbright Program and how he measured its success. Three guests at the table were Fulbrighters, and each described the experience in the same powerful terms: it had “changed their lives.” Before the evening ended, I turned to Senator Fulbright and told him that I hoped one day to become a Fulbrighter myself. With TUSEF’s help, that hope became a reality.
In 2010, as a Senior Specialist, I attended the Fulbright Program’s 60th anniversary celebration in Thailand. The joyful event took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the corridor outside the meeting room was lined with banners and photographs of Fulbrighters. One image immediately caught my attention: Donald Swearer, identified as a four-time Fulbrighter. Don was a renowned scholar of Theravada Buddhism and the first to translate the teachings of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu into English. I had been fortunate to study with him in college—and even more fortunate to remain in touch with him ever since.
At that reception, then-TUSEF Executive Director Pornthip Kanjananiyot introduced me to Fulbright Senior Scholar Bruce Svare, convinced that we shared important interests. She was right. Bruce’s brother-in-law had served as a director of the U.S. Peace Corps, and I was then president of the National Peace Corps Association. We had both heard the same refrain: when Peace Corps volunteers and Fulbrighters reflect on their service, they often say, “The experience changed my life.” Our conversation turned to a larger question: how do you demonstrate that enduring impact? That question stayed with us and ultimately inspired us to establish Fulbright Chronicles in 2021—an independent, peer-reviewed journal by and for Fulbrighters that invites authors to examine the lasting influence of their experiences. Bruce and Erika Waters, the journal’s book review editor, later nominated me to the Fulbright Association Board, where I now serve.
Across three appointments as a Senior Specialist, I was fortunate to work with three exceptional hosts and colleagues: Ajahn Parichart, Vice President for International Affairs at Ubon Ratchathani University; Dr. Chadaporn, then interim director of international affairs at Kamphaeng Phet Rajabhat University; and Ajahn Diyaporn of the English faculty at Thaksin University. Each shaped an unforgettable Fulbright experience, and each were part of a relationship that endured long after we first met and the formal program concluded. Through them—and through every connection that followed—I learned the lesson at the heart of my Fulbright journey: a Fulbright does not end when the program ends. Its true impact is revealed in the relationships, ideas, and opportunities that continue for years to come.
