VCU alumna conducts research in Africa as Fulbright student scholar
by Lauren McClellan
Imagine hearing a rumor about the electricity and the water being shut off for ten days. You prepare for the coming blackout by gathering food—mainly avocados—and candles for light. You fill every container that you can find with water. You set out your clothes to be washed—not by a washing machine, but by a scrub-brush—ahead of time. You buy a deck of playing cards for entertainment.
The electricity and the water go out, but it is before the expected date. You are not fully prepared. The temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. You should have ironed the clothes that you hung outside to dry avoid a fly infestation, but you did not get a chance to do so.
This is only one of the Fulbright memories that Catherine Porter will bring back from her time in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“A very famous reporter from Kinshasa was coming to our house to stay, while he reported the details of a mining conference. It was the most bizarre scenario. There was a famous reporter, a Fulbright scholar and a Carter Center Fellow, squashed into a tiny house without electricity in 120 degree heat, living by candlelight [while surviving on a diet of] red wine, avocados and stale chocolate Weet-Bix for several days. Even worse, we didn’t have any clean sheets to offer to anyone. It was the beginning of a very long ten day period….,” Porter said.
Currently, Porter is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Before that, she studied at the University of Pennsylvania to complete her master’s. She graduated from The Honors College at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007 with dual bachelor’s degrees in history and international studies.
The Democratic Republic of Congo
Porter is completing doctoral research in the province of Katanga in the extreme southeast corner of the DRC. Her research examines how from the time of the Belgian Congo (1908) until the Katangan Secession (1960), a separate Katangan identity developed parallel to Congolese identity. Porter also examines how the factors involved in creating a separate identity helped create a locally produced nationalist ideology. This, in turn, fueled the secession, which cyclically created more nationalist intent. When not busy with her research, Porter also teaches English twice a week at a local school.
While in the DRC, Porter has faced several challenges other than lacking regular supply of clean, running water and electricity. She had been to the country before, so she was aware of the harassment that she would face working in an all-male environment.
“But I didn’t realize the extent to which it would happen and how frustrating it becomes on a daily basis…,” Porter said. “Even more frustrating is to be perceived as offensive or rude for not appreciating the comments or gestures or responding back with affection.”
Not all of Porter’s experiences have been as uncomfortable. One of the things Porter has enjoyed most about her time abroad is the vivid colors of the city.
“The vegetables, the artwork, and the fabrics here are truly beautiful. Perhaps, it’s part of VCU that has never left me because they are so artistic within themselves. I love the variety and the vibrancy of the colors that are here. It is lacking at Cambridge.”
The application process
When deciding to apply for a Fulbright scholarship, Porter had a choice because she was attending university outside of the United States. Was she going to apply through the University of Pennsylvania where she received her master’s? Or was she going to apply through Virginia Commonwealth University, where she did her undergraduate work?
Porter decided to go with her undergraduate university. “I much prefer VCU,” she said.
Porter had to request special permission from the Fulbright program to apply to conduct research in the DRC. In May of 2011, the Fulbright program submitted her request to the State Department. This request went from Washington, D.C. to the US Embassy in Kinshasa in the DRC for approval and then back to the State Department. Then, the response went to the Fulbright program in New York and finally made its way to Porter.
The news Porter received was not what she wanted to hear.
“I was originally told that applications weren’t being accepted because of the political situation—it was before the presidential elections,” Porter said.
Then, at the end of September, Porter was told that she would be allowed to apply. She was traveling back from Kinshasa at that point and had only 10 days to complete her application.
The National Scholarship Office at VCU helped Porter submit her application. On short notice, the National Scholarship Office assembled a panel to review her application materials and give her feedback.
“They worked with my time schedule, which was certainly unusual compared to the other applicants, with traveling back from Kinshasa in the middle of the timeframe I was given.”
Porter also consulted her advisor and supervisor at the University of Cambridge. Even with all the help, she did not expect to get that far in the application process.
“Nobody really thought I’d actually receive the award, especially since I was told no initially,” Porter said. “I was told to use it as a practice tool for applying for post-docs and other grant applications.”
Porter’s language background in German, French and Kiswahili helped her application stand out. Intermediate to advanced knowledge of French was required for her Fulbright application. The fact that Porter studied Kiswahili was an added bonus. In addition, her desire to go to the DRC was unique. Applications for sub-Saharan African countries are combined for review instead of being judged on a country-by-country basis. Many of these applications are for English speaking countries, such as Ghana or Kenya. The fact that Porter wanted to conduct research in the DRC made her application more interesting.
Advice to future scholarship applicants
After experiencing a difficult but rewarding application process, Porter has advice for future scholarship applicants:
“Don’t be afraid to apply because of the daunting prospect of the application; once you complete two or three, they all have a similar format,” Porter said. “Also, find two or three things that you are interested in which will make you stand out from the rest of the applicants. Specifics are much more interesting than general ideas.”
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VCU alumni or current students interested in applying for a Fulbright Scholarship or other nationally competitive scholarships should contact the National Scholarship Office at honorsnso@vcu.edu or (804) 828-6868.
If you want to follow Catherine’s journey in the DRC, please visit her blog (http://mzunguontheloose.wordpress.com/).
Categories Fulbright Award, NSO Student Features