Zoe Bishop, a biochemistry student at Northeastern University had a dream that changed her life. One night, in her final year, she woke up crying. She had applied for a Fulbright scholarship and in her dream she saw that her application had been denied. The scholarship was something she not just wanted, but needed badly. That dream made her realise that.
She couldn’t be happier when she got to know that she has been named a Fulbright scholar and will spend a year as an assistant English teacher in South Korea. Bishop is among nine Fulbright scholars celebrated by President Joseph E. Aoun at the academic honors convention.
Bishop has lived a nomadic military life as her father served twenty-four years in Air Force, rising to the rank of master sergeant. Bishop had previously lived in Oklahoma, Japan, Germany, and Kansas. Even the preschool years in Japan, the four years, left an influential impact. While growing up, she chose anime over American cartoons, eating Japanese food, and always removing shoes while entering the house. Bishop, while remembering her mother, says, “We lived in Okinawa, which is a beautiful island and she just fell in love with it. Today she’ll kind of subconsciously bow a little bit when she’s talking to someone that she thinks is Japanese.”
Bishop went on to investigate Korean culture, because of her love for K-pop music. While remembering the invite of the retired couple to celebrate Chuseok, which is the Korean day of thanksgiving, she got very emotional.
She now plans to attend a medical school, and wants to become a professor of medicine. She plans on volunteering in Korea, not only as an English tutor but also at a hospital.
All this was possible because of that night, dreaming of being rejected, which pushed her towards her goal. She became even more committed and driven to do something worthwhile and it turned her life around.
Soumya