"Fulbright has been a truly life changing experience. Learning to live and work in my second language (Spanish) and having daily exposure to a third (Catalan) has provided me with a greater appreciation for the beauty and culture that each language carries within it, as well as a newfound understanding of the difficulties that those who live and work in their non-native language experience on a daily basis,” reflects Hayley Dunlop, MD ‘25 candidate in the College of Medicine.
Dunlop is researching abortion attitudes amongst OB/GYNs and midwives in Catalonia, Spain via her Fulbright Program research grant to examine “Where Values Meet Practice: Abortion Attitudes and Training in Spanish Medical Education.” She is affiliated with the L'Associació de Drets Sexuals I Reproductius, the Foundation University Institute for Primary Health Care Research Jordi Gol I Gurina. Her survey research explores abortion training efforts for physicians and how conscientious objection and knowledge of different abortion techniques shape their decisions.
A global citizen who earned her master’s of public health at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland before coming to Ohio State, Dunlop finds the Fulbright experience is impactful beyond her research findings. “Each day of this Fulbright grant has brought with it a new experience that has changed me for the better. I am no longer the same person that I was when I left the U.S. in September, and I look forward to meeting the person that I will have become when I return in June.”
“Learning about Spanish and Catalan culture through my friends, colleagues, and the Fulbright commission has opened my eyes to traditions and ways of living that I didn’t know existed, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to incorporate some of those traditions and cultural elements into my daily life,” says Dunlop.
Dunlop’s advisor at L'Associació is Jordi Baroja Benlliure, her advisor at Ohio State is Sheryl Pfeil and her project has also been supported by Courtney Kerestes and Anne-Marie Sinay.
Fulbright Program
For more information about the Fulbright Program at Ohio State please contact Joanna Kukielka-Blaser.