Stephanie Alleyne - Student from Barbados
Field: Communication and Development
Host Institution: Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
Grant Dates: 2009 - 2011
Stephanie Alleyne
Improving Health Communications & Development: Children's Diabetes Prevention through E-Games
The single greatest culminating moment of my two-year tenure in the United States has been more incredible than I could have ever imagined. In a few days, I will officially complete my Masters in International Affairs with a focus on Communication and Development Studies at the Ohio University, an opportunity made possible by the Fulbright Foreign Student Scholarship Program.
Confirmation of the Fulbright Scholarship was a bittersweet moment for my family. Having recently married, it meant the first two years of marital bliss would be spent thousands of miles apart, inundated by research assignments but pleasantly punctuated by late night telephone calls and Skype messages. Throughout this time, my husband became my greatest advocate; this gave me the impetus not only to complete my program successfully, but to also use this journey as an opportunity to make a scholarly contribution to an area about which I feel particularly passionate.
Principally, my research at Ohio University focused on the use of communication theories and strategies for social and behavior change in the field of development. This spanned a number of areas including health communication, culture and identity, public policy, media and development, and technical co-operation. During my second year, the emphasis shifted to health communication, specifically raising awareness about juvenile diabetes.
With the guidance of my committee members - Dr. Rafael Obregon, Dr. Vibert Cambridge, and John Bowditch - I was able to design a grant proposal for the production of a diabetes prevention and management e-game for Barbadian children. Diabetes is a growing health problem in the United States and the Caribbean, and I want to raise awareness of it. This web-based e-game, called "Red Light-Green Light," focuses on engagement and active learning to promote healthy lifestyles. While this is just the first step in a comprehensive health communication program, the data gathered in Barbados coupled with the expertise of the Gaming Research and Immersive Design (GRID) Lab at Ohio University creates a unique opportunity to address a major global health concern.
Going forward, it is my intention to take this proposal from conception to implementation. I believe that through this research there is tremendous potential for collaboration between Ohio University and the relevant agencies in Barbados, including future facilitation for research, training, theory and practice. Through State Alumni’s Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund— a competition that provides small grants for projects proposed by alumni from the State Department’s many exchange programs—I was able to share my study with Fulbright alumni, members of the United States Embassy in the Eastern Caribbean and other interested parties. The guidance and encouragement from the Alumni team was immensely invaluable and demonstrates the commitment of this office and the overall Fulbright Program to the success of scholars and their community, a community that extends beyond our home countries to include that of our respective hosts.
While academics were the primary focus of my time in the United States, the experience was enhanced by the mutual exchange of culture and creativity. The Fulbright program in many respects prepares grantees for an unmatched cultural envoy encounter. Whether it is participation in a Fulbright Enrichment Seminar or a university-hosted excursion, the chance to share as much as we learn is ever-present. This in itself is what makes the Fulbright program inimitable. The Program’s investment in our development continually generates an incomparable interest.
Over the next few months, I - like other alumni - will make the transition from theory to practice. With this change, we will take the memories of our time on campus and the regards of our colleagues and friends. Above all, we will take the experience of a lifetime. As a Fulbright alumna, your reward goes beyond academic achievement to encompass the cultivation of reciprocal respect and lifelong friendships.
To the U.S.-Barbados and Eastern Caribbean Fulbright Program