The Burana Tower is the most impressive structure that remains from an 11th century Silk Road city located near the modern city of Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan.
History Instructor David Dry Named Fulbright Scholar A-B Tech history instructor David Dry became one of the first community college instructors in the nation to receive a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program grant from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in 2016. Dry spent his Fulbright year teaching American History in Kyrgyzstan as part of his project titled, “Forging Connections: American History, International Class Partnerships, and English Language Education.” Dry was one of more than 1,200 U.S. citizens who taught, conducted research, and provided expertise abroad for the 2016-2017 academic year through the Fulbright program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields. “I currently do international abtech.edu/foundation
collaborations with Germany, Taiwan and Russia in my classes,” Dry. “I am always interested in international education and Fulbright was a great opportunity to establish another connection.” In addition to collaborating with other countries, Dry regularly shared pictures, video, posted regularly on social media, and conducted two-way classroom sessions between his class in Kyrgyzstan and A-B Tech classes, providing our students with firsthand knowledge of the unusual Kyrgyz culture. Prior to Russian imperial expansion into Central Asia in the 19th century, most Kyrgyz people lived as nomadic pastoralists, raising sheep and horses. Although few Kyrgyz people maintain a nomadic lifestyle today, Kyrgyz culture is heavily influenced by nomadic traditions. Among the more interesting elements Dry covered were nomadic sports such as Kok-Boru, a form of polo played with a goat carcass, nomadic cuisine, the portable dwellings known as yurts, and regional historical sites. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational 10
exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries with the goal of solving global challenges. The program is funded through an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide. Fulbright Scholars address critical global challenges – from sustainable energy and climate change to public health and food security – in all areas, while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the longterm interests of the United States and the world. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 54 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 82 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 33 who have served as a head of state or government. Dry has since left A-B Tech to pursue a doctorate at UNC-Chapel Hill and get married.
