Looking back at her childhood, Fabiola Moshi remembers her aunt dying in childbirth. Although her aunt was not in the strongest of health, the loss of her aunt inspired her to assist people with accessing health care early on.

“My passion was to be in medical personnel,” said Moshi, whose passion led to a career in nursing.

Currently, Moshi is a Fullbright scholar-in-residence. Under the Fullbright Program, scholars from abroad are brought to colleges and universities in the United States, with the goal being to assist American schools with internationalizing their campuses and curricula, in addition to diversifying educational experiences for students, staff, faculty and surrounding communities.

In April of 2021, Moshi applied to the Fullbright Program, and by August of that year, she was accepted at Bellevue College (BC).

“I was excited and very happy,” said Moshi, who explained how as a mother, it’s difficult enough working and going back to school, let alone studying abroad.

Regardless of the difficulties, Moshi viewed the Fullbright Program as an opportunity to grow professionally.

Moshi earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2006—making her among some of the first in Tanzania to earn this specific degree. Since, she has earned a master’s degree and a doctorate. Moshi is a lecturer at the University of Dodoma in Dodoma, Tanzania, where she will utilize what she learns at Bellevue College to educate and train the next generation of Tanzanian nurses.

“I was very mpressed by her work,” said Antwinett O. Lee, BC Nursing Dean. “I’m really excited to have Dr. Moshi as a Fullbright scholar.”

Moshi’s residency began in February and will continue through the month of June. During these 16 weeks, Moshi has been focusing on assisting with labs and nurse training simulations. While caring for simulated patients, students can think about actions needed to treat a patient. The simulations allow room for students to make mistakes in a safe environment where patients are not endangered.

Moshi was most excited to learn about the training simulations because she believes her nursing students can also benefit from them. She holds an abundance of experience in women’s health, which is an area that BC is looking to expand on.

According to BC, Moshi has shown the students and faculty that nursing is a global profession. Additionally, Moshi encourages students to look beyond the biases towards Western medicine, which sometimes, the only difference in health care between nations is access to resources.