Carol Larroque

New Mexico Chapter President

Carol completed her Fulbright to Uganda in 2009-2010 as a Teaching/Research Scholar. Carol joined the Fulbright Association in 2016.

When and where did your Fulbright take place? What did you do during your grant year?
I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist, and I spent my time in post-conflict Northern Uganda interviewing children, ages four through 17 years and a parent or guardian in four different villages. This was part of a Mental Health Needs Assessment of the children in Gulu District following the war that took place there.

How has your Fulbright experience impacted your life and career?
I had traveled extensively prior to my Fulbright. However, only when living and working in another country, as I did during my Fulbright, did I more fully understand the culture, beliefs, people, and problems of another country. The experience helped me to reflect and better understand my own country as well. Understanding that children need good mental health programs everywhere, upon my return to the US, I became a member of the Global Mental Health/International Relations Committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Together with colleagues from around the world, I have chaired symposiums and given presentations regularly at our annual meetings.

What is your most memorable experience as a Fulbright Association member?
Several members of our New Mexico Chapter of the Fulbright Association met with staff members of then Representative Deb Haaland to advocate for Fulbright. Following the meeting, one of the staff members contacted me sharing that Representative Haaland wished to meet with the visiting Fulbrighters. During the meeting, Representative Haaland warmly welcomed the young Fulbrighters and asked to hear their story. It meant the world to them.

Have you met any Fulbright alumni as a Fulbright Association member?

I have met many Fulbright alumni as a Fulbright Association member. At our meetings and events, I met brilliant scientists who worked in our National Laboratories, teachers who traveled to Bosnia and Japan, and a pathologist who helped colleagues in low-income countries interpret pap smears. Each and every encounter was memorable because of the warmth and enthusiasm expressed by these alumni. Ken Carpenter of the International Studies Department, Meredith Paxton, art historian and expert in Mexican art, and Linney Wix, artist and art therapist, are just a few of the dedicated alumni who have enriched my life.

Carol Larroque
Carol with a family in Gulu District in Northern Uganda
Carol with children in Gulu District in Northern Uganda