Nine Fordham graduates have been awarded Fulbright scholarships that will take them across the globe for research, graduate study, and teaching that fosters cross-cultural exchange and understanding.
This year’s Fordham Fulbright recipients are bound for Taiwan, Botswana, Eastern Europe, and many points in between. Students and recent alumni of any major can apply for the scholarships, which offer a year-long immersion in another culture in a project tailored to a student’s interests, said Marisa Iglesias, PhD, associate director of Fordham’s Office of Fellowship Advising.
This is the 26th consecutive year in which Fordham graduates have won the prestigious awards presented by the Fulbright US Student Program, administered by the U.S. Department of State. This year, 18 Fordham applicants reached semifinalist status, and 12 were ultimately recognized: nine as awardees and three as alternates.
More than 150 faculty and administrators across the University supported students’ applications and personally encouraged them to apply, Iglesias said. The fellowships advising office forms relationships with students that begin as early as their first year at Fordham, often helping them apply for multiple awards and providing individualized guidance and care that reflect the University’s holistic Jesuit approach, she said.
”Our work is truly developmental,” she said. “We help students craft a vision for how they can play a significant role in changing our society for the better.”
The fellowship advising office is already guiding more than 50 applicants from five Fordham schools through next year’s application process.
From Puerto Rico to Galicia, Spain
Rebecca Cortes ’26, from New Jersey, is headed to the Galicia region of Spain in September on an English Teaching Assistant Award. A Fordham Founder’s Scholar who majored in humanitarian studies, Cortes plans to attend law school and work with underserved or marginalized communities—using language skills that she will hone as a Fulbright Scholar.
Galicia is appealing to her because it shares characteristics with Puerto Rico, her parents’ homeland, which she has frequently visited. “It’s part of the United States, but very different,” she said. “Someone who identifies as Puerto Rican identifies as an American citizen, but their culture is Puerto Rican.”
Because Galicia is an autonomous region within Spain that has its own government and culture, “it’ll be really interesting to see how that mirrors the culture … in Puerto Rico,” she said.
She looks forward to achieving fluency in Spanish and hopes to serve Spanish speakers when she becomes a lawyer. “Having the year to fully immerse myself somewhere where they speak Spanish is really important to me,” she said.
Solidarity in the Face of Russian Imperialism
Amy Herd ’25, a native of Pennsylvania, is headed to the Republic of Georgia on an English Teaching Assistant Award. She has been researching the region for the past four years, and presented research at Fordham last year about how traditional folk songs in Ukraine—which her grandmother called home—have grown more popular since Russia invaded the country in 2022.
Her Fulbright year will not be her first visit to Georgia. In spring break of senior year she traveled to the Eastern European nation—which, like Ukraine, borders Russia. “I noticed from my conversations with some Georgians that [the two countries] had a lot of cultural overlap when it came to their methods of resisting Russian imperialism,” she said. “That’s what really got me interested in spending more time over there.”
Herd works as a securities litigation paralegal, and plans to earn a law degree. Whether it’s human rights work or finance, she knows she wants to pursue legal work in Eastern Europe, and the Fulbright experience will give her a foothold there. Knowledge of the region and culture “gives you a little more credibility with the people that you’re working with,” she said.
Pursuing Fluency in Mandarin and a Career of Service
Natalie Loo ’26, who hails from California, received an English Teaching Assistant Award that is taking her back to Taiwan, where she attended an accelerated Chinese language program at National Taiwan Normal University.
She looks forward to teaching English while also building her Mandarin skills, with the goal of becoming bilingual and gaining a new tool for understanding others.
“There’s something about being able to connect with people in the language that they know best that is really meaningful,” she said. “You get a little bit more of a real look into someone.”
An English and music major, she plays the cello and is open to playing gigs or taking music classes in Taiwan if they’re available.
She has pursued a wide array of service, such as tutoring with Teach for America and running children’s activities for Sanctuary for Families, a New York nonprofit serving domestic violence survivors.
Teaching is one of her career possibilities, along with other “people-facing” fields like social work and law, she said. But in the short term, Loo is just excited to return to Taiwan. “All I had to do was step out the door and I was already learning new things, pretty much every minute of the day,” she said.
Fordham’s 2026-2027 Fulbright Awardees
Six other graduates were selected for the Fulbright US Student Program:
- Katherine Caceres Bravo ’25, from Puerto Rico, studied biological sciences. She earned an English Teaching Assistant Award for Colombia.
- Kaitlin Campbell ’12, from New York, studied theology. She will be pursuing an MBA at IE University in Spain.
- Jenna Goldblatt ’23, from Boston, earned a degree in international studies and environmental studies. She will be undertaking research in Montreal.
- MaryClaire (Maisie) McAdams ’26, from Rhode Island, earned a degree in international studies. She earned an English Teaching Assistant Award for Botswana.
- Andrew McDonald ’26, from Sacramento, studied history and political science. He earned an English Teaching Assistant Award for Mongolia.
- Laura Rosado Philippi ’26, from Puerto Rico, studied psychology and anthropology. She earned an English Teaching Assistant Award for Spain.
Three other recent graduates were selected as alternates:
- Nérissa Blot ’25, from New York, studied political science. She was named an alternate for an English Teaching Assistant Award for France.
- Emma Ehl ’25, from New York, studied English. She is an alternate for an English Teaching Assistant Award for Lithuania.
- Caridad Kinsella ’23, from New York, studied English as well as digital technology and emerging media. She is an alternate for a Master of Arts program in the humanities at University College Cork in Ireland.
Learn how you can advocate for the continuation of international exchange programs like Fulbright.
Students and recent graduates interested in applying to the Fulbright program can contact the Office of Fellowship Advising.
