Inspirational women through the eyes of Fulbrighters #1

For International Women's Month, we invited Fulbrighters to share stories of some of the most inspirational women they encountered during their Fulbright grant.

Meagan Keefe

Meagan Keefe is the associate director of Northwestern University's African Studies Program. She is an inspiration for positive virtue and values integrated living. During COVID 19, she took me on an adventure around Evanston, Illinois, exploring new places and enjoying the beautiful landscapes as we followed up with health protocols. She is an attentive listener with a high level of maturity when it comes to discussing and exploring the hot topics of the day, such as Trump's leadership on black lives matter. She is very inclusive, as evidenced by her involvement with impressive women in my circle; I learned so much from her, particularly as a leader and a woman of virtue (being true to oneself).

- Nyanjala Maingu, a former FLTA alumni at Northwestern University. Currently designing and producing handmade batik.

Ester Topolářová

Ester Topolářová is among the most intelligent, hardworking, responsible, dedicated, and empathetic human beings I have ever known. She has lived most of her life in Brno, Czech Republic, but she earned her undergraduate degree at Colby College in the US. After completing her bachelor’s degree, Ester remained in the US for an additional year to work as a labor organizer for UNITE HERE, the major hotel workers’ union. In 2018, she returned to the Czech Republic to attend graduate school in anthropology at Palacký University, and I had the good fortune to work with her for most of 2019. Ester helped me with innumerable administrative tasks, allowing me to adjust comfortably to life in Olomouc. She showed me how to get around, assisted in establishing my university credentials, navigated the process of setting up a local bank account, and enabled me to master countless other challenges. She went well beyond what was expected of her as a “student assistant”: she tutored me in the Czech language, arranged trips around the country for my family and me, and provided absolutely reliable support and companionship. After I left the ČR, her commitment to social justice won out over her ambition to acquire academic credentials, and she left the university to take a position as a labor organizer—a post she still holds three years later.

- Richard (“Rick”) Feinberg is professor emeritus of anthropology at Kent State University, served in 2019 as Fulbright Distinguished Chair of Anthropology at Palacký University Olomouc (ČZ), and is currently president of the Kent State University Retirees’ Association; in addition, he serves on the board of the Northeast Ohio chapter of the Fulbright Association as well as several national and regional organizations.