Twenty-eight Notre Dame students named 2022-23 Fulbright US Student Program finalists

Author: Erin Blasko

Fulbright

Twenty-eight University of Notre Dame students have been selected as finalists, and another seven as alternates, for the 2022-23 Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The number of finalists, including 23 undergraduate students and five graduate students, is two more than last year despite 13 fewer applicants. Awards are contingent upon host country approvals, medical clearance and submission of all required grant documents.

Established in 1946, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program, assisting graduate and undergraduate students with pursuing graduate study, teaching English or researching abroad.

Notre Dame had 26 Fulbright finalists last year and 29 the year before that. It had a record 39 for the 2017-18 academic year. It has been among the top-producing Fulbright institutions for eight years running, alongside other top research institutions in the U.S.

In applying for the program, undergraduate students work closely with the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE) and graduate students with the Office of Grants and Fellowships.

Jeffrey Thibert is the Paul and Maureen Stefanick Director of CUSE.

“Congratulations to the 28 finalists and seven alternates for the 2022-23 Fulbright U.S. Student Program. And congratulations, too, to all of the 96 students and alumni who applied this year,” Thibert said. “Hopefully you all learned something about how to prepare applications from the process, whether or not this particular one was successful. I would like to thank all of the Notre Dame faculty and staff who formally serve on our campus committee and who informally serve as mentors to our applicants. Finally, I’d like to especially thank this year’s CUSE Fulbright advisers: Elise Rudt, Mathilda Nassar, Jenny Smith and Noémi Toroczkai. Our advisers play a crucial role in ensuring that applicants learn something from this process, and their work can’t be valued enough.”

Laura Carlson, vice president, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School, said, “As an academic institution, Notre Dame is committed to having a global impact. The continued success of our students in obtaining competitive Fulbright grants confirms that our students have a role to play as ambassadors who bring international experience. Our students want to be a force for good in the world, and the Fulbright program gives them the resources to make that happen. The Graduate School’s Office of Grants and Fellowships is delighted to play an ongoing role in facilitating access to those resources.”  

The 28 finalists are:

• Cristian Araujo, class of 2022, political science and Latino studies (supplementary), English teaching assistantship to Brazil.

• Isabel Barnidge, class of 2022, honors English, Spanish (supplementary) and pre-health (supplementary), English teaching assistantship to Spain.

• Jaylexia Clark, doctoral candidate in sociology, study and research grant to Ghana.

• Julia Cogan, master’s student in education (Alliance for Catholic Education), English teaching assistantship to Spain.

• Alena Coleman, class of 2022, honors English and honors Spanish, English teaching assistantship to Uruguay.

• Theodora D’Eramo, class of 2022, English and mathematics (supplementary), English teaching assistantship to South Korea.

• Eric DeVilliers, doctoral candidate in theology, study and research grant to Egypt.

• Devin Diggs, class of 2022, neuroscience and behavior, study and research grant to the United Kingdom.

• Duncan Donahue, class of 2022, sociology and peace studies (supplementary), English teaching assistantship to Germany.

• Olivia Dopheide, class of 2022, honors anthropology, English teaching assistantship to Colombia.

• Cassidy Ferrell, class of 2022, political science and global affairs (supplementary), English teaching assistantship to Belgium.

• Rachel Ingal, class of 2021, honors political science, English teaching assistantship to Spain.

• Sophia Kics, class of 2022, Spanish and pre-health (supplementary), English teaching assistantship to Mexico.

• Megan Ludke, class of 2022, preprofessional studies and psychology, English teaching assistantship to Poland.

• Elizabeth Maxwell, class of 2022, business analytics and Spanish (supplementary), English teaching assistantship to Spain.

• James Moster, class of 2022, Program of Liberal Studies and political science, English teaching assistantship to Belgium.

• Abigail Patrick, class of 2022, anthropology and honors English, English teaching assistantship to the Czech Republic.

• Margaret Rauch, class of 2022, computer science and Chinese (supplementary), English teaching assistantship to Taiwan.

• Cristina Ruiz, class of 2022, anthropology and sociology, English teaching assistantship to Mexico.

• Carissa Salamatin, class of 2022, science-business, English teaching assistantship to Kazakhstan.

• Lauren Sinnock, master’s student in education (Alliance for Catholic Education), English teaching assistantship to Botswana.

• Marinella Stollenwerk Cavallaro, class of 2022, political science, English teaching assistantship to Mexico.

• Emma Strouse, class of 2021, applied and computational mathematics and statistics and psychology, English teaching assistantship to Spain.

• Naya Tadavarthy, class of 2022, honors art studio and German, study and research grant to Austria.

• Maria Teel, class of 2022, political science and French, English teaching assistantship to Senegal.

• Zoe Tulauskas, class of 2021, honors biochemistry and Chinese (supplementary), English teaching assistantship to Taiwan.

• Mabry Webb, class of 2022, science-business and Spanish (supplementary), English teaching assistantship to Spain.

• Anna Zappa, master’s student in education (Alliance for Catholic Education), English teaching assistantship to Spain.

The application window for the 2023-24 Fulbright U.S. Student Program is currently open. For more information or to apply, visit cuse.nd.edu/fulbright (undergraduate/ACE) or graduateschool.nd.edu/graduate-training/research-communication/the-office-of-grants-and-fellowships (graduate).