Professor 凯伦·巴顿’s unprecedented nine Fulbright awards have taken her across five continents — North and South America, Africa, Asia and Europe — allowing her 把这个世界带给她在博天堂官方的学生.
凯伦·巴顿和富布赖特学者这个名字在哈佛大学几乎成了同义词 北科罗拉多. 北京大学人文社会科学学院教授 近二十年来，巴顿获得了九项极具竞争力和声望的奖项 在她的学术生涯中获奖. 这对任何学者来说都是令人印象深刻的成就， particularly a first-generation college student who also worked hard outside of the classroom, waiting tables while earning both her undergraduate and graduate degrees.
As someone who once thought she was on a clear path to law school, the decision to 跟着不同方向进入研究生课程的地理提示了一些问题 这对她未来的工作前景意味着什么. 这是她笑的东西 现在，这个决定成为了我的世界之旅的前奏 让她有了做学者的底气，加强了她的教学技能，并提供了无数 学生第一手资料到遥远的地方面对什么可持续学者 指的是“邪恶的问题”——土地退化和荒漠化，海岸侵蚀， 社区复原力和环境管理.
一切都与人际关系有关. 对巴顿来说，重点不在于旅行， 相反，这是把她建立起来的人际关系带到课堂上，并提供帮助 her students understand how people communicated in the past to push boundaries and create something that’s fluid and works for other people and the environment. Photo 伍迪·迈尔斯
巴顿对环境研究的兴趣使她从法律转向 硕士和博士学位.D. in geography, and eventually into a faculty position teaching Geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) 和可持续性 at UNC.
“这不仅仅是我们作为地理学家学到的博天堂官方网站两者关系的理论 人类和环境，”巴顿说. “重要的是随之而来的技能 with that: field work, using GIS and remote sensing techniques. 太棒了 理论原理，技能组合和实际操作的结合 environment.
“设计对社会重要且不可或缺的项目让人感到兴奋. 我只是爱上了这门学科.”
鉴于是什么吸引了她到地理领域，她追求的机会 一个像富布赖特这样的项目所能提供的可能看起来是显而易见的——一个寻求建立的项目 世界各国之间的联系，交流思想，寻找解决方案 重要的国际问题. 但巴顿的情况并非如此. In fact, 直到一位同事分享了他自己的富布赖特经历，她才注意到这个项目 这激发了她的兴趣. 2007年，她第一次获得了富布赖特奖:为期六周的奖学金 前往巴西研究潘塔纳尔河的环境可持续性问题 最大的热带湿地.
巴顿说:“我不能强调这对我作为教员的经历有多大的改变 says. “It gave me confidence, not only because I received the award, but knowing there 这些机会是给像我这样的第一代学者， 来资助我的研究. When I came back [from Brazil], I was really energized to help 支持我的学生，做好研究. 那次经历之后，我一直在申请.”
Since 2007, Barton’s Fulbright awards have taken her across five continents — North 以及南美、非洲、亚洲和欧洲——在那里她可以研究宿主 不同国家的环境挑战和成功 和文化.
The Fulbright program gave her the funding necessary to conduct research projects 在她原本无法做到的环境中，这让她得以做到 to create partnerships and a robust network of other Fulbright scholars who share 想法和放大其他研究人员. 作为前任联合总裁，她活跃在这个网络中 现任科罗拉多州富布赖特董事会成员，这是一个支持 国家的富布赖特学者.
Aside from the benefits to herself, the program has also helped inform and enhance 巴顿的课程，为她的学生提供了宝贵的专业机会 courses and projects that draw directly from her own hands-on experiences. 作为老师， 巴顿确信，她从富布赖特奖中获得的智慧使她成为 课堂更加吸引人. 也许更重要的是，这让她能够分享 critical perspectives with her students she never would have gained from reading a book.
“当你教授地理这样的学科时，要有第一手的经验 certainly makes the learning environment more fun and energizing,” Barton says. “But 在这些地方的经历也有助于将这些问题人性化 我们谈论.
“When I first started teaching classes in environmental sustainability, I suspect 我非常关注这个问题，”巴顿解释道. “比如，我会教他们怎么做 deforestation is impacting communities in the Amazon or how overfishing by outside pirate and industrial fishing vessels is impacting a local community. 但当我开始 to travel to other places, I was able to bring into the classroom the ways in which 社区在回应，所以他们不只是被视为被动的受害者 这些大型的全球结构. 他们是有自己体系的群体 来处理这些问题并与之斗争. 我试图使这个故事人性化 in ways that I didn’t when I first started teaching, because I couldn’t.”
巴顿从她在国外的经历中受益匪浅 为她的学生提供类似的变革机会. 2019年，她扩大了规模 富布赖特到尼泊尔的范围，邀请了一个由10名博天堂官方毕业生组成的跨学科小组 and undergraduate students to assist with natural hazards mapping for a community 弹性项目. She has also organized and led undergraduate field expedition 前往冰岛、秘鲁、尼加拉瓜和圭亚那的航线. 巴顿是一个热心的支持者 Fulbright U.S. Student Program, regularly encouraging students to apply and serving 在申请过程中作为导师.
While Barton knows not all of her students can travel abroad, she’s a champion for 那些做的人. She thinks the experience gives them ways to field-test their own theories about other people 和文化 and a chance to develop a sense of confidence they 不要总是在教室里找.
18岁的加比·罗尔丹(Gabby Roldan)是一名环境可持续性研究专业的大三学生 她陪同巴顿去圭亚那进行生态旅游考察. 在那里学习 社区如何平衡旅游和土地保护，罗尔丹描述了这一经历， which was her first trip outside of the United States, as magical.
“我甚至不知道该怎么用语言来表达. 外面的事情太多了 如果你不去，你是不会知道的。.
第一次旅行激发了罗尔丹的新信心，当机会来临时 accompany Barton on another adventure, she jumped at the chance. 而不是走路 12月毕业典礼上，罗尔丹来到了亚洲，加入了巴顿 这是她第五次前往尼泊尔. 罗尔丹的任务是和其他学生一起工作 at the Institute for Crisis Management in Kathmandu, interviewing local community members about how the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, which killed over 9,000 people, had 影响他们.
“这段经历非常有益. 我觉得我有机会沉浸其中 myself in the culture and really be a part of it,” Roldan says. Roldan感谢Barton for teaching her that it’s possible to have adventures while pursuing the work you love. Currently a community inclusion planning specialist with the Division of Homeland 科罗拉多州的安全和应急管理，这是对她经验的补充 在尼泊尔，罗尔丹正在焦急地等待她下一个重要事业的消息 move. She finds out this spring whether her application to the Peace Corps, where 她正在寻求在斐济担任社区经济发展促进者的角色 successful.
COVID-related travel restrictions prevented Maggie McBride ‘20 from participating 她在博天堂官方的本科教育期间进行了实地考察. 但她还是学会了 巴顿是她的老师和顾问，至今仍是她的良师益友. 麦克布莱德目前是华盛顿乔治华盛顿大学的一名硕士研究生， D.C. 研究环境资源政策. 她毕业于博天堂官方，主修 Political Science and a double minor in Environmental Studies and Geography.
“(巴顿教授)是我所见过的最谦逊的人 their own research,” McBride said, referring to the fact that Barton has a way of 以一种不居高临下的方式分享她的经验和知识.
“她会在课堂上谈论她的一些旅行，但重点不是旅行， 而是她建立的人际关系以及如何与人沟通。 says. “My Political Science and Environmental Studies programs were both excellent. I had great professors and fellow students, but those programs were more focused on 如何与人相处而不是与人共事. 这是Dr。. 巴顿一直在谈论. 过去人们是如何沟通来推动的 界限，创造一些流动的东西，并为其他人工作，而且 对环境有益? And how can we continue to do that in the future as technology 政治也在改变?
“It was always more about the people connections,” McBride continued. “She’s able 在世界各地建立这些美丽的联系. 她能够给予 对她的学生也一样，因为她一直把学生带到一切 she’s doing. She gave me some of the best lessons that I’ve been able to take forward 在我的职业生涯中.”
去年夏天，巴顿结束了她富布赖特之旅的最新篇章——挪威之行 where she learned more about the country’s extensive renewable energy sources and 这些资源的基础设施对土著居民拥有的土地产生了影响 community. Later this spring Barton heads to Bangladesh on a Fulbright Specialist award where she will collaborate with former Ambassador Tariq Karim, members from the U.S. Embassy and others to help reduce plastics pollution in the Bay of Bengal, 特别侧重于针对一次性塑料的缓解和教育工作.
In addition to her Fulbright travels, Barton is currently writing a book about her experiences, something she once said she felt she was being called to do given her 祝你的节目好运. 虽然这本书目前的结构是九章， each one providing an account of each of her awards, she’s got her eye on a tenth, 最后一章. Barton recently submitted an application for a Fulbright Scholar 在卢旺达，她对当地促进环境的土著概念很感兴趣 保护. 毫不奇怪，她已经通过了第一轮.
In her hallmark humble fashion when talking about her Fulbright awards, what Barton 对大多数人来说，希望不是认可，而是激励.
“我希望人们读到这样的故事，明白他们的孩子和他们的 colleagues can participate in these opportunities,” Barton says. “有一个富布赖特奖 我想对每个人都是如此.” UNC
迪安娜·赫伯特
