Educatio: Total Chaos (But Worth It)

This week was a big week for us at EducationUSA! Every year, there is a big education fair here in Hungary called Educatio, where universities, employers, the military, etc. can come and try to entice students to join their organizations. It's not just Hungarian universities either: lots of schools from around Europe, study abroad and au pair programs, international corporations -- and us, EducationUSA, the lone representative of good ol' America. This isn't a small affair either -- students come from all over Hungary to attend this event. I believe this year's count was more than 40,000 students over three days.

Our booth, pre-chaos. Decorated by yours truly!

It. Was. Madness.

From the beginning until the end of each day, it was eight solid hours of students asking questions, more questions, and even more questions. I must have given the same basic spiel about how to study in the U.S. hundreds of times. My voice was almost gone on Thursday night.

But I met so many interesting students! A young man who desperately wants to play American football in its "home country." A young lady who wants to do a Ph. D. at Cornell. A Fulbright alum whose son now wants to study in the U.S. after hearing about his dad's experience. Two friends who just wanted to come over to say that their favorite team is Minnesota and ask if we had a pennant from them (we didn't.)

Meeting students and helping them reach their goals is my favorite part of my job. Just the other day, I had a meeting with a panicking student who just got his SAT scores back -- they were so high that it opens up a whole new set of schools and scholarships he can apply to (a good problem!). Next week, I have a meeting with another student who wants to study at my alma mater, Rice! And this whole time, I am waiting with bated breath for admissions decisions of all the students who I have worked with.

I can't believe my Fulbright grant is already half over. It will be hard to leave this place and my wonderful colleagues and students!