VCU alumnus studying in the UK on Fulbright scholarship
by Lauren McClellanEating dinner in a formal dining hall at an old, historic British University while wearing long, black academic robes sounds like a scene from Harry Potter, but in reality, it is an experience Fulbright student scholar Kunal Kapoor has become accustomed to during his time at Durham University.
VCU alumnus Kunal Kapoor is currently studying in England on a Fulbright scholarship. There, he is pursuing a Master’s of Science in Medical Anthropology. He is studying heart-related conditions of people who have migrated from South Asia to the United Kingdom.
Kapoor graduated from The Honors College in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies. He had previously been to England to study the psychology of religion and British romantic literature at Oxford University.
Durham, England
While in the United Kingdom, Kapoor has had many enriching experiences in the classroom and beyond. In addition to the formal dinners he has attended, Kapoor has learned about many other traditions that go hand-in-hand with British university life. For example, before his classes began for the term, Kapoor participated in an official matriculation event at the Durham Cathedral. The cathedral was voted the country’s best-loved building in a poll conducted by the BBC in 2001. At this event, one undergraduate student and one graduate student are tasked with signing a matriculation book on behalf of the other students in their class. This book has signatures from the first graduating class of the university. Kapoor was bestowed with the honor of signing this book for his fellow students. When signing the book, Kapoor included a quote he thought appropriate in the moment: “Love all; serve all.”
Kapoor has also participated in other traditions such as candlelight processions and balls. Though he is a self-proclaimed teetotaler—a person who does not drink—he joins fellow students at local pubs after many of these events.
Tennis has also been an important part of Kapoor’s experience in Durham. On the weekend before the academic term started, Kapoor tried out for club tennis. After the tryouts for club tennis were over, the tryouts for the university team began. A girl who Kapoor was interested in decided to stay, so Kapoor stayed as well.
“In the moment of enchantment, I quickly agreed,” Kapoor said about staying for the university tennis team tryouts. “As Blaise Pascal once said, ‘The heart has reasons which reason knows not.’”
Kapoor earned a spot on the team. During the Harry Potter-themed initiation, the new players were supposed to eat a raw onion in under 90 seconds. Kapoor fortunately missed out on that opportunity as the team ran out of onions before it was his turn.
In his final game, Kapoor faced a familiar opponent to whom he had lost just three weeks earlier. As Kapoor hit his final volley, he saw that his opponent could not reach it in time. He then had an emotional experience on the court.
“As I hit the final volley and realized my opponent didn’t reach it in time, I just fell down on my knees, kissed the court and started crying,” Kapoor said. “The tears just poured forth and I couldn’t stop them. I did not even try. I let them go. I let myself go. I let myself become one with the moment. A victorious feeling. A joyous lightness of being. But at the same time a sadness that this is the end of my tennis ‘career’ as a student at Durham. I think this end of my last tennis match parallels my bittersweet emotions as I think about leaving Durham.”
The Durham University tennis team finished the season ranked first in the country.
In January, Kapoor participated in a mid-year forum for Fulbright recipients in Bristol, UK by giving a presentation on his experience thus far. His presentation entitled, “Transcending to the Sublime: A Teetotaler’s Experience in the UK,” went so well that he was chosen to present an update of his experiences at the end-cap at Edinburgh in June.
Kapoor has also had the opportunity to attend a show by the Kings College Choir, spend New Year’s Eve in London, attend a Fulbright conference in Berlin, watch plays in the Durham Cathedral and Castle, watch Nobel Prize winners give presentations and bungee jump for charity.
The application process
Kapoor heard about the National Scholarship Office by being a student in the Honors College. He attended a Fulbright information session in 2011 and began the application process in late June. He met with Jeff Wing, director of the National Scholarship Office, many times to discuss his application for Fulbright and other scholarships. He also met with other people in the National Scholarship Office and VCU’s Writing Center. In addition, Kapoor received feedback from his professors on his application essay drafts. He estimated that he rewrote his personal statement around 20 times during the application process.
“Every member of the NSO never hesitated to go above and beyond to help me,” Kapoor said about his experience working with the National Scholarship Office to complete his application. “I know that the entire process can seem very daunting from the outside, and all the nuances of the application may discourage others from applying. However, the selfless dedication and experience that every member of the NSO team displayed made the process very smooth. The entire team’s organization, guidance and encouragement provided a very calming presence throughout the application. I always felt very secure that there was a whole team ready to help with any question or concern I had throughout the process.”
Before applying for the Fulbright, Kapoor applied for an English Speaking Union scholarship. He did not receive the scholarship, but he did gain a new perspective.
“Failing to win the ESU scholarship was like a brick wall for me; it then made me realize how impassioned I was about studying abroad, specifically in the UK,” Kapoor said.
Kapoor said his prior experience with the United Kingdom was “very helpful throughout the application process.”
“Primarily, by spending time in the UK before my application, I had a greater understanding of the way life in the UK differed from university-life in the US,” Kapoor said. “In my application, I was able to mention this briefly.”
When Kapoor learned that he had received the Fulbright scholarship, he was surprised.
“I was deeply humbled and felt such a powerful sensation of thrill and energy pulsing through my body,” Kapoor said. “I was volunteering in Ecuador over Spring Break when I first saw the email and immediately messaged Mr. Wing and the rest of the NSO team. We were supposed to receive an email on a Monday about two and a half weeks prior. I checked every Monday, and subsequently every day, for word, but none came. I checked my email one evening whilst in Ecuador. I was not expecting to find anything, and was genuinely surprised to see the email, which was sent about an hour prior.”
Advice for future scholarship applicants
After applying and receiving his Fulbright, Kapoor enthusiastically offers his advice for future scholarship applicants:
“I think that as humans, a large part of our happiness comes from the assurance that we are using our tools and passions to serve humanity in the most profoundly positive way we can. Applying for scholarships is a way to examine our core-self, to illuminate our desires and to understand how our existential passions can revolutionize the world. This self-illumination opens the door to a deeper understanding of the self and one’s purpose in this world. Beginning this quest, in my view, is winning. Applying for scholarships, therefore, is a win-win opportunity. You cannot lose. Only gain. Why be fearful? Take a risk. Open up your heart and go for it.”
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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.
Categories Fulbright Award, NSO Student Features