Former Executive D irector, KAECFrederick F. Carriere

Frederick F. Carriere

Former Executive Director

:: Korean-American Educational Commission

The first two decades of the ETA Program in Korea illustrate how successes achieved in the educational field have a permanence that makes so much of what we do in other fields seem so very ephemeral. This is because the successes actually are the myriad of intertwined lives, both Korean and American, which embody the past, present and future of the program in an unbroken chain of irreplaceable memories.

For me, the chorus of ETAs singing “We Share the Dream” as the finale of the gala dinner held in Seoul in October 2010 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Fulbright Program in Korea perfectly illustrated this point. Garbed in white and processing onto the stage in two files, the ETA chorus was like a ‘cloud of witnesses’ testifying to the reality of the ideals that have animated the Fulbright Program from its very beginning. It struck me how pleased Senator Fulbright would have been by this moving performance, if only he could have been present for it as he was for the 40th anniversary commemoration.

It is so fitting that the ETA Program bridges the two decades between these two major anniversary commemorations. Among the different varieties of Fulbright experiences, all of which are valid, the ETA Program certainly stands out as one of the most ideal expressions of what Senator Fulbright envisioned for his program.

My deep gratitude and warm congratulations go to all those who are responsible for the past, present and future successes of the ETA Program in Korea.