Social Impact can encompass a wide range of ideas and projects that positively affect the communities we live in.
We are delighted to showcase various Fulbright alumni working with art, music, science,
and public health projects that are contributing to a better world.

 

A series by Leslie Kutsenkow (Fulbright Intern, Summer 2023)

 

 

(Genesis Garcia, 2023)

 

Guatemalan American Fulbright alumna, Genesis Garcia, is impacting individuals who study abroad by exposing them to new cultures, languages, and ways of thinking, which can broaden their perspectives and enhance their understanding of the world. She is currently a Program Specialist at Study in Portugal Network (SiPN), through the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) in Lisbon. FLAD’s mission is to support Portuguese progress and to serve as a bridge between Portugal and the United States by providing financial and strategic support for innovative projects by fostering cooperation between Portuguese and American civil society.

 

Having worked in international education for over eight years, (Genesis’s) passion for the field has focused mainly on developing intercultural competency among study abroad students and finding the intersection between diversity, equity, and inclusion in sustainable tourism and international education. Genesis leverages her previous study abroad experiences in Portugal and Spain to be a successful Intercultural Immersion Specialist, serving historically underrepresented students and scholars abroad. She has implemented, managed, and evaluated intercultural, anti-racist, social justice programs for university students, staff, and mentors in the United States, Spain, and Portugal.

 

Genesis has continued to be involved with Fulbright Commission Portugal after her English Teaching Assistant grant by serving as a representative for Fulbright Portugal at the 2018 EU-US Young Leaders Seminar, held in Belgium, sitting on orientation panel discussions for Perspectives on Cultural Identity, and more. Genesis serves as the Director of Diversity Learning and Social Impact for Fulbright Latinx, an inclusive community of Latinx Fulbright alumni.

 

But Genesis has another passion – writing poetry.

(Genesis performing her poetry at Camones – Artes Bar. Photo from POEMACTO Instagram. June 29, 2023.)

«I actually started writing poetry when I was quite young. I realized that I loved rhyming and looked forward to “Poetry Month” in elementary school. However, I admittedly fell out of love with poetry in high school. It was in high school that I received the message that rhyming wasn’t sophisticated and that “good” poetry was poetry that was so ambiguous only the most “intelligent” of readers could understand. So, I no longer felt that poetry was for “me.” It wasn’t until I moved to Europe after graduating college that I rediscovered poetry through journaling. By journaling my experiences and reflections of living abroad, poetry naturally found me through my journal entries, and I came into my poetic “voice.” I’ve been able to reclaim my own form, definition, and style of poetry ever since.»

 

Similarly to international education, poetry inspires, influences, and provokes change in society by addressing social, political, and cultural issues, giving a voice to the marginalized and oppressed. Poetry transcends race, religion, and culture, fostering understanding and empathy. What started as a way for Genesis to document her experiences and as an emotional outlet has evolved into her first published work (hopefully of many) foundations.

(foundations book by Genesis Garcia, 2023. Cover design by Julia Méndez.)

«Foundations may only be a small collection of work, but it’s from where a lot of courage begins… This (mini) book is my own genesis, a physical declaration of my humble beginnings as a new poet…»

(Genesis Garcia. foundations Preface, 2023.)

 

You can download Genesis’s poem “Chapina en Lisboa” and view her performance at POEMACTO, where she was an invited poet on June 29th in Lisbon.

 

***

We interviewed Genesis about how her work as an educator, a Fulbright grantee, and a poet has influenced her views on social change.

 

1. How has your experience as a Fulbrighter in Portugal influenced your writing?

“Although my love story with Europe started with my college semester abroad in Spain, something always called me back to Portugal ever since my first visit to Lisbon in 2014. Before there were Digital Nomad or Golden Visas, one of the few ways I found that someone with a U.S. Passport could come to Portugal was through a Fulbright grant. When I was awarded the Fulbright ETA to Portugal in 2017-2018, my time in Portugal through the award only confirmed my love for this small, yet charming country. In the unexpected little city of Barcelos, I experienced the whole emotional spectrum during my Fulbright; curiosity, wonder, frustration, sadness, boredom, excitement, creativity, love. Till this day, one of my all-time favorite poems (and one that I consistently perform) is inspired by a memory of my last few months of my grant exploring the north of Portugal”.

 

2. Since you currently live in Lisbon, what challenges in society do you think that the Portuguese people face currently and how does your art represent these struggles and/or people? “One of the most pressing issues that I think Portuguese people currently face is the increased cost of living, and rising housing prices in particular. As much as Portugal has been welcoming to diverse groups of foreigners, a large group of these foreigners are also those who have larger disposable incomes that ultimately drive up prices, leading to gentrification, displacement, among other major social issues. In my social circle, I’m one of the few people from the U.S. who earns a Portuguese salary and works for a Portuguese institution. It makes me wonder, “if I’m feeling the pressures of inflation and gentrification myself, I can only imagine those who make minimum wage in Portugal.

 

I’ve always said that I love Portugal for reasons I can’t fully explain. One of the only ways that I have been able to express this love is through my poetry. In my poem “home,” featured in my new poetry chapbook foundations, the poem opens with an attempt at answering the question of “why Portugal”:

 

“home.

 

home is where

your heart

feels

like

it actually

belongs

to you.

 

In Portugal,

my heart feels

like it’s

mine.

like it belongs

to me.”

 

My love for Portugal–its culture, its people–has inspired me to actually care about the country and what happens to it. I don’t wish to live in an isolated U.S. bubble in Lisbon where I make myself believe that local issues do not apply to me. Although I am not Portuguese and cannot single handedly combat gentrification, through my poetry, I hope to instill gratitude for this small country that has offered me and others so much. And through that gratitude, inspire others not to turn a blind eye to local issues in Portugal that we are all implicated in.”

 

3. If you could have one impact on Portuguese society and culture now and/or in the future, what would it be? “Besides being a poet, I’ve also been an educator for almost 15 years. I’ve always been motivated by how education can be used as a tool for social change–if it wasn’t for this piece, I don’t think I would’ve stayed in the field for this long. Especially as our world becomes increasingly globalized, diverse cultures, ideologies, ways of being come in contact, rub up against one another, dance, debate, negotiate. Whether it be through my poetry or through my work as an educator (or a combination of both), I’d like to continue to raise self-awareness and other awareness about the impact we have on others when we travel and migrate. I’d specifically like to raise critical awareness among more privileged communities in Portugal, such as wealthy migrants from the U.S. who have now made Lisbon their home, on how they are engaging (or not) with Portuguese society and challenging them to think about diverse ways to directly give back to local Portuguese communities.”

***

Genesis has a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Tufts University, Massachusetts and a Master’s Degree in Sustainable Tourism Management from Polytechnic of Leiria in Portugal. Genesis was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at the Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e Ave, School of Management in Barcelos from 2017-2018.

 

By fostering collaboration and cooperation, Genesis is professionally and through poems, helping create a more inclusive and interconnected world where individuals share culture, exchange ideas, develop networks and relationships, and foster understanding and empathy globally — all powerful forces for positive social change.

 

If you are in Lisbon,  you can see Genesis perform live or read her book! While interning in Lisbon this summer, I had the unique opportunity to attend Genesis’s June performance. It was authentic, moving, and something I will remember for years.

Find out more about or contact Genesis on her LinkedIn and Instagram. Thank you, Genesis!

 

 

 

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