Now this Willow Glen resident is embarking on a yearlong trip to Poland, where she will lecture and conduct research as a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in East European studies. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's flagship program in international educational exchange and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

This is Curry's fourth Fulbright award. All her previous awards also applied toward lecturing or conducting research in Poland.

Her affinity for the country stems back to her college years. As a sophomore at Vassar College in 1967, Curry participated in an exchange program, traveling to Poland.

At the time, she had taken more than a year of studying the Russian language, and her parents decided to send her abroad. But she quickly found out her options were limited. Either she could attend a sports camp in the Soviet Union or live with a family in Poland and travel in the Soviet Union. She chose to reside in Poland, and her experiences in the Eastern European country have brought her back nearly 10 times, totaling almost five years altogether.

"Poland is like a second home to me," Curry says.

During those early visits, Poland was under the rule of the former Soviet Union.

"Poland was a communist country—a part of the Soviet bloc—when I first visited as an exchange student," the 53-year-old Curry says. "This year, Poland is getting ready to join the European Union. It is a very interesting time in the political history of Poland and I feel privileged to be a part of it."

Curry says that when she would travel to Poland during those years, life was much different for the people living there. She remembers waking up at 4 a.m. to get in line to wait for her milk ration and the heavy burden of censorship that prevailed during that time. But, since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, she has been back several times and notes the optimism of the people.

"It is very different there now," she says. "They have everything that you need that you could get in the West."

And she adds, "I learned a lot about my own country and about myself and how little luxuries I need to live on. Poles are extremely good to those who are interested in them. They love to talk about their country and lives."

During this visit and her year at the University of Warsaw, she will focus her lectures on the Cold War, because Poland's citizens were only given government-controlled news during the country's 44-year period under the reign of the former Soviet Union. Although she has lectured many times in Poland, on this visit, her courses for the first time will be taught in both Polish and English. The course titles are Elections and Politics, Western Theories of Transitions and The Cold War.

Curry's three children, who all grew up in Willow Glen, have also at different times accompanied their mother to Poland for her research and teaching endeavors. Her son Matt, 22, remembers attending elementary school in Poland, spending half a year in first grade and a full year in fourth grade. He says that when he was younger he just wanted to be normal and stay with his friends at home, but now he is glad he had an opportunity to learn about another country and language.

"It was weird. I kind of resisted it in the beginning, sitting in the back of the class and not knowing how to speak Polish very well," Curry's son says.

He now describes his time there as "a huge life-changing experience" and from his travels he's learned that "every country has totally different personalities."

First Congregational Church of San Jose Rev. Nancy Peters has known Curry, a congregational member, for 10 years. Peters says she looks forward to hearing about Curry's travels and her point of view on world issues.

"She is very articulate and so knowledgeable about a lot of things—she has led such a fascinating life," Peters says. "She is a very intuitive person who makes these great connections to life, finding the bigger picture in it."

Curry has volunteered as a morning greeter or to read Scripture at the church and has been invited to speak at different church functions. She led an adult forum about The Pianist, a movie about a young Jewish pianist who survived World War II in Warsaw against all odds.

In addition to her church volunteering, she also spent four years on the board of directors at InnVision, a Willow Glen organization that helps homeless at-risk families and individuals by offering various levels of housing and day programs.

CEO Christine Burroughs says many at the organization used to call Curry the "conscience of the agency" because Curry wanted to ensure the integrity of the agency and would challenge decisions to make sure they were in the best interest of the client.

"She really had a passion for the clients and was wonderful at seeing their perspective," Burroughs says. "She was very active in our Home Safe Project, providing resources and fundraising on our behalf. She also acted as a liaison between the agency and Santa Clara University, connecting us with important resources for the project."

And, Curry is not only a seasoned researcher, lecturer and volunteer, she also wears the hat of author—with six published books about Poland under her belt.

Curry is passionate about her work and the relationships she has formed in Poland. But, she says that she looks forward to coming home to Willow Glen, describing it as similar to Europe, with a close-knit, neighborly feel. Each time she returns she also uses her new knowledge to inform her students at Santa Clara University.