Heidi Evensen
Field: Education
Host: Columbia University, New York City, New York
Grant Dates: September 1, 2005 - May 30, 2006

Heidi Evensen, a 2005-06 Norwegian Fulbright Student, studying education at Columbia University in New York, said of her experiences in Harlem in New York City, “My Harlem semester has enriched my life by immersing me in a culture which few outsiders... ever experience. Conversations with classroom volunteers gave me a small glimpse into lives and world views uniquely different from my own. I conversed with a 75-year-old African-American gentleman about the rise of rap music in Harlem and about the civil rights movement as he remembers it. I spoke with parent volunteers who have never left New York City, yet are truly interested in learning about my internationally mobile upbringing. I taught a small unit on Norway to children who think they live in the ‘country of Manhattan’…. In short, this has truly been an enriching cross-cultural experience which I will continue to draw upon for the rest of my life.”

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