Grinnell’s Fulbright Effect
Each spring, the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the institutions with the highest number of accepted applicants to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the federal government’s flagship international educational exchange program founded in 1946.
With five accepted applicants, Grinnell was on the list this year. Last year, too. In fact, Grinnell has been named a top producer of Fulbright students almost every single year since 2005, when Fulbright first began recognizing colleges that have exceptional Fulbright outcomes. Definitive records can be hard to come by, but at least 137 Grinnell students and alumni have received Fulbright Student grants.
The College’s Fulbright record is remarkable by any measure. But what makes Grinnellians such successful candidates for this prestigious global exchange program? And how has the Fulbright experience shaped their journeys long after they embarked?
While each Grinnellian’s Fulbright application ultimately rests upon their individual merits, it’s worth noting that many of the College’s distinctive qualities provide a strong framework for securing a life-changing Fulbright award.
“Grinnell’s commitment to intellectual curiosity, global understanding, critical thinking, and the exchange of ideas is a strong foundation for success in receiving these awards,” says Ann Landstrom, Fulbright program adviser and assistant dean and director of global fellowships and awards in the Center for Careers, Life, and Service. The individually advised curriculum and Grinnell faculty members’ dedication to fostering students’ curiosity helps build the skills and confidence necessary for them to pursue ambitious independent projects like the Fulbright.
Grinnell President Anne F. Harris says, “Senator Fulbright recognized and sought to foster ‘the common bond of human dignity’ as an essential prerequisite for a peaceful world. This principle is at the heart of Grinnell’s mission, a belief that a liberal arts education transforms lives, perspectives, and our relationship with society. Graduates of this college are — across borders and disciplines — serious about how they discuss, debate, discern, and work toward the common good. It’s no surprise that Grinnellians are consistently successful in the Fulbright program’s highly selective process.”
For The Grinnell Magazine, five Grinnell Fulbrighters past and present reflected on their decisions to apply, their experiences abroad, and where lifelong learning has taken them since.
Colleen Moser ’16
Study/Research Fulbright — Senegal
As a Grinnell student, Colleen Moser travelled to France for a Mentored Advanced Project with Leif Brottem, associate professor of global development studies. She interviewed West African diaspora community members about their experiences with migration and their hometown associations amidst changing European immigration policies. Her research experience at Grinnell was key to her Fulbright application: “After looking at the diaspora communities in France, I wanted to understand the impact of these European policies on the communities where the migrants had come from.”
On a Fulbright research grant, Moser spent nine months travelling throughout Eastern Senegal studying diaspora-led development in migrant sending communities. Afterwards, she went to work for the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM). She spent two years at the IOM regional office in Nairobi before joining IOM’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, where she supports strategic planning for crisis response and resource mobilization for the Department of Humanitarian Response and Recovery.
“My work now is not thematically exactly what I studied at Grinnell or did the Fulbright on, but I really feel for sure that the Fulbright was a piece of the puzzle along the way,” Moser reflects. “The fact that I traveled extensively and independently throughout Senegal, that I got to meet so many people and understand their experiences, that field work has absolutely informed my ability to work for the UN successfully.”
Xonzy Gaddis ’23
English Teaching Fulbright — Colombia
As Xonzy Gaddis ’23 applied to law school and graduate school, she began to think getting more international experience would help her pursue a career in human rights. Through a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship award, Gaddis has spent 10 months teaching English at a trade school on San Andres Island, a small island in the Caribbean Sea recognized as Colombian territory by the federal government of Colombia.
She’s been struck by how the courses she took at Grinnell prepared her to get the most out of her time in Colombia — for example, a food and Latin America course taught by Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies Yvette Aparicio. “That class and the readings I did for it have really helped me develop a mindset on how to navigate the complex interplay between development initiatives that focus on hunger and nutrition, environmental conservation, and the preservation of indigenous cultures on the islands through food,” explains Gaddis.
Working with youth at a pivotal point in their careers has been eye opening, Gaddis says, especially as her students prepare to enter industries inextricably linked to Colombia’s natural resources and ongoing fight for environmental protections.
“It has been very cool to see the extreme importance of environmental stewardship across the community,” says Gaddis. Her Fulbright experience has sparked an interest in land rights, maritime law, environmental law, and especially how classrooms can serve as catalysts for environmental stewardship.
“I feel like I’ve been able to witness the transformative power of education in the way that it empowers individuals and helps them articulate their voices and assert their rights,” she reflects. “This whole experience has equipped me with some real practical skills and a strong ethical framework in order to navigate the complexities of human rights law.”
Chris Neubert ’08
Study/Research Fulbright — Sri Lanka
Four years after graduating from Grinnell, Chris Neubert felt an itch to return to academic research. As he explored opportunities, he landed on the Fulbright. “I knew a fair amount about the Fulbright from when I was at Grinnell, and I knew that they supported alumni, which I think was essential to my application at the time. It just seemed like a really good opportunity at the right time in my life to start something new,” Neubert says.
Neubert traveled to Sri Lanka, where he had first studied abroad as an undergraduate. “When I returned, it was after a long civil war that had brought to the fore a lot of questions about what it means to be Sri Lankan.” His Fulbright project would explore how the identity of people in rural, agricultural Tamil communities was impacted by their relationship to the land, their labor, and the state.
Neubert credits the Fulbright with his acceptance into graduate school — and his decision to apply. “It was, for me, a career trajectory-changing experience,” he says. After earning his PhD in geography at UNC Chapel Hill, Neubert has spent the last few years as a policy advisor for the U.S. Senate. He currently works for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. “I engage daily with what rural livelihoods look like, what sustainable agriculture really means, and what the role of agriculture is in contributing to environmental and climate change concerns. That really got started and sort of crystallized for me when I was in Sri Lanka on the Fulbright.”
Kahlil Epps ’18
English Teaching Fulbright — Croatia
After graduating and before applying to law school, Kahlil Epps wanted a global exchange experience that involved more than backpacking abroad. Impactful classes in Grinnell’s education department and Epps’ own experiences with dyslexia had sparked his interested in studying law related to special education and children with learning disabilities. Epps turned to Ann Landstrom to help guide him through an intensive process of reflection and writing, through which he crafted a Fulbright application that highlighted the intersection of his personal history with his aspirations for the future. “In Croatia, one of my main goals was to understand what another country’s education system looked like,” Epps recalls.
At the University of Zagreb in Croatia’s capital city, Epps worked with graduate students preparing to become primary school teachers in a national system where a single teacher stays with the same class of children for four years and teaches all subjects. Most of the education students were fluent in English, Epps recalls. “I wasn’t really teaching English; I was teaching culture.”
Much of Epps’ Fulbright was spent researching and preparing presentations that would serve as cultural and linguistic enrichment for students and community members throughout Zagreb. Epps gave presentations on his special interests, topics like W.E.B. DuBois’ theory of double consciousness, the evolution of the civil rights movement, life as a child in Washington, DC, and literature. “I was able to do research and teach, and at the same time, I was learning.”
Sarah Rosenberg Strommen ’95
Study/Research Fulbright — Costa Rica
During her third year at Grinnell, Sarah Strommen conducted field work with Costa Rican birds through an Associated Colleges of the Midwest study abroad program. “When I left, I didn’t feel like I’d finished exploring what I wanted to explore,” she says. Through a Fulbright research grant, she returned to Costa Rica to continue the research she’d started as an undergraduate.
The Fulbright program gave Strommen and her proposed project room to evolve. “I came in with this project that was about broad national conservation strategies, and throughout my year in Costa Rica, I narrowed it down to a study of how ecotourism and agroforestry impact bird populations as economic and conservation policies are developed.”
Now Minnesota’s first female commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, Strommen still feels the relevance of lessons learned during her Fulbright experience. “In so many ways, I feel like I learned things during the Fulbright that still help me balance my perspective here. We can both protect lands and wildlife while allowing for economic development. We can do both.”
Going Forth With Courage
By all accounts, the Fulbright experience truly is transformative. Harnessing their passion and curiosity, Grinnell Fulbrighters go forth seeking rich cultural engagement, learning, and a profound global exchange experience. “Alumni return from their journey having made a distinct impression upon the communities they serve and acquired preparation for the next steps of their professional lives,” says Landstrom.
“We are incredibly proud of every Grinnellian who has invested the time, effort, and courage to apply for a Fulbright grant,” says Daniel and Patricia Jipp Finkelman Dean of Careers, Life, and Service Mark Peltz. “These Grinnellians exemplify our values as an educational institution, and it’s a privilege to support them with the exceptional guidance and expertise of our staff in Global Fellowships and Awards.”
Graduating seniors, recent graduates, master’s, and doctoral students are eligible to apply for a Fulbright grant, with careful review of qualifications. Landstrom is happy to consult with current students and alumni on their Fulbright interests. Alums who have completed a Fulbright program and are interested in sharing their experience with current students are invited to email their story, photo, and contact information to Ann Landstrom.
Originally published in the Summer 2024 issue of The Grinnell Magazine.