Fulbright Impact: Phillip Wenturine
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)
Fulbright alumnus, Phillip Wenturine, MFA, has made a career in educating, counseling, and supporting students. College counseling plays a crucial role in shaping the future of society. By providing guidance and support, college counselors not only help students achieve their goals but encourage young people to pursue their passions and aspirations. College-educated individuals are also more likely to be impactful members of their communities, volunteer, and later impact society themselves.
Phillip said he “feels at home” returning to Western Europe this summer as one of the founding members and Dean of University Guidance at the Brewster Academy in Madrid, Spain. The Brewster Academy Madrid is a private American International School and a branch of the Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.
Phillip’s background in writing not only helps guide students to find their voice but is also used for a creative outlet about his global experiences. During his Fulbright in Lisbon, Phillip and his students created “Pessoas of Portugal”, a project documenting Portuguese people and culture inspired by “Humans of New York”, a collection of heartfelt photographs and stories about Americans in New York capturing the spirit of a city.
(Facebook: pessoasofportugal.2020.)
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We interviewed Phillip about how his Fulbright ETA experience in Portugal influenced his current role as a university counselor – an essential job in shaping the future minds of our society.
1. How have your experiences from your Fulbright fellowship in Portugal influenced your career over the years?
Working at the university level during my Fulbright, both teaching as well as working with students on competitive scholarship applications to study in the US, has really helped shape my current career. After completing my Fulbright, I transitioned from working in the classroom as a teacher to continuing down the path of advising, moving from supporting students on their competitive scholarship programs, such as Fulbright and Erasmus as well as graduate school applications, to supporting international high school students wishing to study all around the world as a university counselor.
Prior to my Fulbright, I had already worked in education for 4 years, and I knew education was the path for me; however, post-Fulbright I’ve been able to transition from the classroom into an academic advising office with a niche focus on university counseling, a still new and somewhat niche area of education, one that has grown to be a true passion of mine. Since leaving Portugal in 2017, I’ve worked in Vietnam, the UAE (Dubai), and now in Spain. I’ve helped over 1,000 students since then, coming from over 100 nationalities, apply to universities in over 30 countries. It’s truly been a remarkable and rewarding career, and my Fulbright experience exposed me to a new area of education and set me on this path to success.
Fulbright helped teach me the value of embracing the unknown, truly immersing myself in a different culture and language, and the excitement that comes with living and working abroad. It has helped shape my ability to continue to work internationally in environments completely different from my own while opening my eyes to new people, places, and experiences that help me continue to learn and have a better context for the world around me. I still feel like I am the same cultural ambassador that I was for the USA while in Portugal, but now the whole world as I continue to live and travel abroad all these years later, having lived in 5 countries and visiting nearly 70 and counting. I’m forever thankful to Fulbright for the experience that kickstarted this amazing career and life I am now living.
(Phillip Wenturine. Fulbright Commission Portugal for AY 2016-2017.)
2. What challenges in society do you think that American people face currently and how does your writing represent these struggles and/or people?
One statistic I learned during Fulbright (which may have changed since then more or less) is that on average around 60% of Americans do not have a passport. With this in mind, one main challenge I think Americans face in society is their ability to truly see beyond their own state borders, let alone the border of the USA into other people’s backyard and into their culture. I always hope that my writing and my conversations with people, which come from my time in Portugal but also since then from living in 5 countries now as well as traveling to nearly 70 countries, allows opportunity for Americans (but also all people) to see into the lives of others and that humans are more inherently similar than they are different. It truly is from traveling and being exposed to the world (and not everyone can physically travel, but through reading about others and watching documentaries and listening to stories – these are alternate ways to travel through the world) that humans can build empathy for those different from themselves. We all may have different starts in life and different backgrounds and experiences, but once we get to know others, we realize we are not necessarily so different. I strive for my writing and my stories to always convey this. I want to be able to give a voice to people and experiences that others may not know about. I think that’s also why I love my job so much now as a university counselor because much of my job is helping students identify and craft their story so they can pitch to universities in their essays why they should be given a chance on an opportunity they desire – I had to do the same to Fulbright to be awarded my experience, and now it feels like through writing and storytelling, I am able to give back and do the same for others.
3. If you could have one impact on American society now and/or in the future, what would it be?
It would be to help break down stereotypes of others and that the world outside of the USA is unsafe or lesser so that more Americans would be willing to get a passport, travel, and see/understand the world. The world is such a beautiful place, and as Saint Augustine said, “The world is like a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” It’s a sad thought to think people may grow content to live in their own little box and never venture out… I’d like to be an ambassador for that to change for the future, for more Americans to see the world as a beautiful place to explore and not one that is incorrectly labeled as dangerous, dirty, scary, etc. Through travel, people can gain not only a sense of adventure and happiness but also empathy and a greater understanding of the world and the amazing culture that is out there.
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Phillip D Wenturine (Noun): 1. Professional educator, storyteller, & globe-trotter (53+ countries) providing a global education at your fingertips | 2. Oxford Comma enthusiast.
Phillip has over a decade of experience as a university counselor, administrator, teacher, and academic consultant. Originally from Florida, Phillip has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of North Florida (Summa Cum Laude) and a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from Eastern Kentucky University (Summa Cum Laude). In 2020, Phillip received a Certificate of College Counseling at the University of California, San Diego. Philip is on the Communications Committee at the International Association for College Admission Counseling (ACAC) and an Accredited Counselor at Times Higher Education.
Phillip is working on a memoir of his global experiences titled, “Love Affair with Lisbon”. Listen to Phillip’s poems and find out more about his poetry, fiction, and non-fiction writing on his website, where his contact information for academic consulting, including assistance with Fulbright applications, is located.
Thank you Phillip for removing the barriers for students of all backgrounds to reach their full potential, creating a more diverse and inclusive educated society, and creatively documenting the experiences along the way!
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Since you are here, read “My Fulbright Experience” too, a series focused on the Fulbrighters’ testimonies about their Fulbright programs in the US and in Portugal!