Testemunho Fulbrighter 2019/2020
«My name is Diogo Magalhães e Silva. I am a graduate student at iMed.ULisboa – Research Institute for Medicines. I secured a Fulbright scholarship with support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for the academic year 2019/2020 at University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Whenever I mentioned this achievement I was told that my life would completely change both personally and professionally after this experience. I only understood what people were trying to tell me when I landed on the San Francisco International Airport. The Portuguese Fulbright Commission told me to mention to the Customs and Border Protection officer that I was a Fulbright scholar with a J-1 visa. Immediately, the officer laughed, congratulated me and asked me what was my field of expertise. It’s a huge prestige to have a Fulbright scholarship in the United States and I am extremely grateful to be a Fulbrighter. One of the biggest challenges for me was the communication at worksite and in some social events. I was passing through what is called cultural shock. Nevertheless, this challenge gave me the opportunity to develop my communication skills and learn several cultures. Also, the laboratory organization and my academic advisor mindset was different from Portugal, therefore, it took me sometime to get used to it. This turned out to be one of the most important conquests of this experience because I gained a different perspective, while conducting research, allowing me to substantially improve my professional skills. The best advice I can give to the future Fulbrighters´ is to be open minded and do not focus only in your studies or research project. In my case, I learned the history of San Francisco, a city with several cultures since the period of the “Gold Rush”. San Francisco is full of humble people and the most brilliant minds are there to make an impact in the world. On a daily bases, tons of events occur there for entrepreneurs, biotech and pharmaceutical companies which allowed me to network more than I was expecting. I also made very good friends from all over the world and I still maintain contact with them. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic bursted and I was forced to finish this experience earlier. I would like to mention a famous sentence by Harvey Milk: “You got to give them hope”. It was a different fight but the one that we have today needs us to maintain this thought. We have to respect each other and perform small actions every day for the benefit of the community. If we want to change the world don´t react, do something! In short, it was an amazing experience as a Fulbright scholar, which allowed me to learn valuable lessons for my life. I recommend everyone to take this journey. You won´t regret!»
Diogo em San Francisco, CA
Num evento organizado pela Fulbright nos EUA, com outros bolseiros: Diogo Bragança e, do Brasil, Leonardo Amorim
Diogo com a família e outro Fulbrighter, Tiago Augusto, durante o Natal de 2019
Muito obrigada, Diogo, welcome back!