Fulbright Awards 2014

In 2014, seven Grinnell students, who graduated in May, were awarded prestigious Fulbright grants to support travel, teaching and research internationally.

Grinnell College has been named to the State Department’s “top-producing” Fulbright list in every year since the list was started in 2004.

The prestigious Fulbright international education exchange program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

“Grinnell students are an excellent fit for the Fulbright program,” says Doug Cutchins ’93, assistant dean and director of post-graduate transitions and administrator of the Fulbright program at Grinnell. 

“Given the seriousness of the academic work here, the international connections we make inside and outside of the classroom, and how globally engaged our students are, it’s not surprising that so many of them are consistently recognized with Fulbright funding to continue learning and serving abroad,” Cutchins says. 

Grinnell’s Fulbright Recipients 

• Lea Greenberg ’14, of Lawrence, Kan., has received an English teaching assistantship to Berlin, Germany. A German major at Grinnell, with a concentration in Russian, Central and Eastern European studies, she plans eventually to pursue a doctorate in German studies, focusing on German-Jewish studies.
• Elena Jaffer ’14 has received a Fulbright research grant to study biochemistry in Mexico. A chemistry major from San Jose, Calif., Jaffer plans to pursue master's in environmental health after her Fulbright year, and then pursue a career related to rural health care.
• Samanea Karrfalt ’14, of McKean, Pa., received an English teaching assistantship to Germany. An anthropology and German major at Grinnell, Karrfalt hopes to pursue a doctorate in German after her Fulbright year.
• Rebecca Kulik ’14, of Dayton, Ohio, received an English teaching assistantship, and will spend the 2014-15 academic year teaching English in Indonesia. At Grinnell, Kulik majored in history with a concentration in Russian, Central, and East European studies.
• Eleanor Price ’14 has been awarded a Fulbright English teaching assistantship that will allow her to teach English in a German high school for a year. A German major from Iowa City, Iowa, Price hopes to be involved with literary translation or library sciences after her Fulbright year.
• Jeremy Sanchez ’14, a biological chemistry and French major from Idaho Falls, Idaho received an English teaching assistantship to Korea. After his Fulbright year, he plans to attend medical school and pursue a career in public health.
• Colin Wong ’14, of Cary, N.C., received a Fulbright research grant to study integrated pest management in China. After his Fulbright year, Wong hopes to attend graduate school and study insect toxicology.

Cutchins says, “Grinnell’s consistently strong representation among students receiving Fulbright awards is evidence of the college’s longstanding commitment to academic excellence, service and international education.” 

Three recent Grinnell graduates were named as alternates for Fulbright grants:

• Leah Lucas ’14 of Bankston, Iowa, who had an independent major in Poverty and Progress in the Americas.
• Elena Gartner ’14, an anthropology and Spanish major from Corvallis, Ore.
• Morina “Mo” Vongsa ’14, a psychology major from Des Moines, Iowa.

In addition, Naomi Ramsay ’14, of Oak Park, Ill., was offered an English teaching assistantship to South Africa, but declined in order to accept a Grinnell Corps fellowship to Lesotho.

Maddie Cloud ’14, a history and biology major from Atlanta, Ga., was offered an English teaching assistantship in Korea, but declined in order to accept a position with the Japan Exchange and Teaching program.