Fulbright U.S. Student Program Recipients

Below is a listing of University of Iowa students and alumni who have been awarded the Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant in recent years.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. It is designed to increase understanding between people of the United States and other countries by providing participants opportunities to study, teach, conduct research, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

All UI students, including undergraduate, graduate, professional students, and university alumni apply through Fulbright Program Advisor Karen Wachsmuth in International Programs, karen-wachsmuth@uiowa.edu, 319-335-1436. Learn more about applying for the Fulbright.

Types of awards

ETA = The Fulbright English Teaching Assistant programs place grantees in schools overseas to supplement local English language instruction and to provide a native speaker presence in the classrooms
Study/Research = The Fulbright Study/Research grant is the traditional award opportunity where a candidate designs a proposal for a specific country.

Awarded in 2017

Read more about these winners.

Name	Hometown	Discipline	Type of Award	Destination
Benjamin Bush	Lincoln, NE	M.F.A., Creative Writing	Study/Research	Bulgaria
Andrew Calvert	Houston, TX	M.F.A.,Creative Writing	Study/Research	Philipines
Kaché Claytor	Des Moines, IA	B.A., Journalism, Spanish	English Teaching Assistantship	Columbia
Victor Diaz	Sioux City, IA	B.A., Linguistics, Spanish	English Teaching Assistantship	Mexico
Ian Dunshee	Des Moines, IA	B.S., Anthropology; B.A. French, Geographic Information Science	Study/Research	France
Henry Hartzler	Iowa City, IA	B.A., Elementary Education	English Teaching Assistantship	Spain
Alexis Koch	Solon, IA	B.S. Human Physiology, Spanish, Psychology, Chemistry	English Teaching Assistantship	Spain
Samantha Korns	St. Louis, MO	B.A. International Studies, Russian, Political Science	English Teaching Assistantship	Russia
Jasmine Mangrum	Chicago, IL	Ph.D. Candidate, Pharmacy; M. P. H. Candidate	Study/Research	Romania
Nicholas McCarty	Geneva, IL	B.S. Biochemistry, Clinical Science, Chemistry	Study/Research	United Kingdom
Lisa Miles	Portsmouth, NH	M.F.A. Book Arts	Study/Research	Indonesia
Hodna Nuernberg	Iowa City, IA	M.A. French	English Teaching Assistantship	Morocco
Kelsey O'Donnell	Sergeant Bluff, IA	B.A. International Studies, Anthropology	English Teaching Assistantship	Taiwan
Scott Sulzener	New Philadelphia, OH	Ph.D. History, Modern Germany	Study/Research	Germany
Samantha Westphal	Urbandale, IA	B.S. Human Physiology, Spanish	English Teaching Assistantship	Argentina
Katherine Will	Des Moines, IA	B.A. Spanish, English	English Teaching Assistantship	Argentina
Jeiran Hasan*	Lansing, MI	D.M.A. Flute Performance	Study/Research	Russia
Haley Henscheid*
Rylee Kerper*
Amira Nash*

* Denotes alternate

Awarded in 2016

Name	Hometown	Discipline	Type of Award	Destination
Noaquia Callahan	Long Beach, CA	Ph.D., History	Study/Research	Germany
Lauren Darby	Boston, MA	M.A., Social Studies Education	English Teaching Assistantship	Germany
Gwendolyn Gillson	Oklahoma City, OK	Ph.D., Religious Studies	Study/Research	Japan
Abigail Grilli	Maywood, IL	B.A., Education	English Teaching Assistantship	Greece
Destinee Gwee	Iowa City, IA	B.A., Biochemistry; B.A., Chinese	English Teaching Assistantship	Taiwan
Nathalie Halcrow	Orange, CA	B.A., English; B.A., French	English Teaching Assistantship	Ivory Coast
Amanda Kloser	Dubuque, IA	M.A.T., Secondary Education	English Teaching Assistantship	Turkey
Addie Leak	Lansing, MA	M.F.A., Literary Translation	English Teaching Assistantship	Jordan
Sarah Lucas	Saint Joseph, Missouri	Ph.D., Musicology	Study/Research	Hungary
Ioana Manahilova	Nova Zagora, Bulgaria	B.S., Human Physiology	English Teaching Assistantship	Bulgaria
Kristofer May	Roaring Spring, PA	B.A., Russian; B.S., Biology	English Teaching Assistantship	Russia
Delaney Nolan	Boston, MA	M.F.A., Fiction Writing	Study/Research	Bulgaria, Greece
Laura Wang	Iowa City, IA	B.A., English; B.A. Chinese	English Teaching Assistantship	Taiwan
Lila Cutter*	Fairfield, IA	B.A., English, Creative Writing Track	English Teaching Assistantship	Hungary
Ananda Guneratne*	Chicago, IL	M.A., Education	Study/Research	Germany
Nicholas Montgomery	Greene, IA	B.A., International Studies	English Teaching Assistantship	Brazil
Patricia Nash*	Düsseldorf, Germany	M.A., Comparative Literature	Study/Research	Romania
Sarita Zaleha*	Sandusky, Ohio	M.A., Installation Art	Study/Research	Ecuador

* Denotes alternate

Awarded in 2015

Read more about these winners. Names in blue below link to individual articles about the winner and their project proposal

Name	Hometown	Discipline	Type of Award	Destination
Brett Burk	Oskaloosa, IA	B.A., linguistics	ETA	Taiwan
Douglas Baker	Fort Dodge, IA	B.A., Japanese and music	Study/Research	Japan
Julia Cartwright	Powell, OH	B.A., global health	Study/Research	India
Daniel Goering	Agency, IA	Ph.D., human resources management	Study/Research	Japan
Quinn Hejlik	Omaha, NE	B.A., history and international studies	ETA	Russia
Clare Jones	New Orleans, LA	M.F.A., creative writing	Study/Research	New Zealand
Julia Julstrom-Agoyo	Chicago, IL	B.A., international studies, political science, and Spanish	ETA	Malaysia
Sarah Mayer	Johnston, IA	B.A. Spanish, biochemistry, pre-medicine	ETA	Colombia
Acacia Roberts	Iowa City, IA	B.A., French, Arabic, and linguistics	ETA	Morocco
Steph Rue	Cleveland, OH	M.A., design	Study/Research	South Korea
Beatrice Smigasiewicz	Gurnee, IL	M.F.A., literary translation, nonfiction writing	Study/Research	Poland
Gloria Wenman	Oxford, IA	M.S., urban and regional planning	ETA	Mongolia
Audrey Williams	West Des Moines, IA	B.A., political science and French	Study/Research	Turkey
Shannon Gravelle*	Rochester, MN	D.M.A. choral conducting and pedagogy	Study/Research	Russia
Sarah Lucas*	St. Joseph, MO	Ph.D. musicology	Study/Research	Hungary
Madeline Welter*	St. Charles, IL	B.A. international relations	ETA	Germany

* Denotes alternate

Awarded in 2014

Read more about these winners

Name	Hometown	Discipline	Type of Award	Destination
Sophie Amado	Chicago, IL	B.A., English and Spanish	ETA	Spain
Kathleen Burke	Spirit Lake, IA	B.A., international studies and global health	ETA	Brazil
Nicholas Hallman	Des Moines, IA	B.A., international studies, history, and French	ETA	Turkey
Benjamin Mauk	Laurel, MD	Iowa Writers’ Workshop	Study/Research	Germany
Stephanie Muller	Denver, CO	B.A., theater arts and history	ETA	Mongolia
Patrick Reed	Iowa City, IA	M.F.A., papermaking and bookbinding	Study/Research	Germany
Katherine Ryken	Iowa City, IA	M.D. candidate	Study/Research	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Megan Starrett	Rock Rapids, IA	D.M.A., horn performance	Study/Research	Hungary
Kate Kedley*	Cedar Rapids, IA	Ph.D.	Study/Research	Honduras
Andrew Nance*	Rochester, MI	M.F.A.	Study/Research	Ireland

*Denotes alternate

Read more about these winners

Awarded in 2013

Name	Hometown	Discipline	Type of Award	Destination
Rebecca McCray	Iowa City, IA	B.A., English	Study/Research	Slovenia
Margaret Ross	New York City, NY	M.F.A., Poetry	Study/Research	China
Briana Smith	Fridley, MN	Ph.D., History	Study/Research	Germany

Awarded in 2012

Read more about these winners

Name	Hometown	Discipline	Type of Award	Destination
Lynne Ann Larsen	Marietta, PA	Ph.D., Art and Art History	Study/Research	Benin
Andrea Rosenberg	Durham, NC	M.F.A., Comparative literature and translation	Study/Research	Argentina
Sean Tolentino	Redondo Beach, CA	Ph.D., Computer Science	Study/Research	South Africa
Erica Hayes*	Marion, IA	B.A.	ETA	Norway
Jennifer Zoble*	Brooklyn, NY	M.F.A.	Study/Research	Serbia

*Denotes alternate

Awarded in 2011

Read more about these winners

Name	Hometown	Discipline	Type of Award	Destination
Luke Juran	Dyersville, IA	Ph.D., Geography	Study/Research	India
Andrew Saito	San Francisco, CA	M.F.A., Creative Writing	Study/Research	Papua New Guinea
Sangeeta Tandon	Bettendorf, IA	PharmD	Study/Research	Togo
Sarah Viren	Tampa, FL	MFA, Creative Writing	ETA	Colombia
Lia Yoon*	Johnston, IA	M.S., Nursing	Study/Research	Brazil

*Denotes alternate

Awarded in 2010

Read more about these winners

Name	Hometown	Discipline	Type of Award	Destination
Edward Gauvin	Bridgewater, NJ	MFA, Creative Writing	Study/Research	Belgium
Marisa P. Handler	San Francisco, CA	MFA, Creative Writing	Study/Research	India
Hanvey Hsiung	San Jose CA	M.F.A.	Study/Research	Belgium
Sarita Patnaik	Denison, IA	B.A., French and international studies	Study/Research	Morocco
Nicole Pietrantoni	Lisle, IL	MFA, Printmaking	Study/Research	Iceland
Lauren K. Reynolds	Ames, IA	B.A., International studies and Spanish	ETA	Turkey
Katherine J. L. Thorpe	Seattle, WA	MFA, Poetry	Study/Research	Germany
Jenny J. Zhang	Glen Cove, NY	MFA, Creative Writing	ETA	France

Awarded in 2009

Read more about these winners

Name	Hometown	Discipline	Type of Award	Destination
Andrew Carey	Farragut, IA	B.A., English and Spanish	ETA	Mexico
Geoffrey Hilsabeck	Elgin, IL	MFA, Poetry	ETA	Portugal
Sarah Lowen	Marion, IA	B.A., Japanese and linguistics	ETA	South Korea
Peter Pellegrino	Maple Grove, MN	B.S., Biomedical engineering	Study/Research	Italy
Diana Thow	Berkeley, CA	MFA, Comparative literature	Study/Research	Italy
Brian Miller*	Roswell, GA	Ph.D., History	Study/Research	Turkey