‘A Dream Come True’: Fulbright Awards Nine F&M Alumni

Fulbright Awards have taken Franklin & Marshall alumni to more than 25 countries over the past decade. This year’s cohort of awardees will continue that globetrotting tradition. 

Nine F&M graduates have been selected for this year’s Fulbright awards. Of that cohort, eight were chosen for English Teaching Assistantships (ETAs) and one for a study / research partnership.

“It is such a dream come true,” said Gabi Girton ‘22, who will teach in Lanzarote, located in Spain’s Canary Islands.  

“I pitched the idea to Fulbright: ‘I want you to put me on this island and I want to start a marine biology club and explain to kids: What are the creatures that live here? How can we take care of them? How do we protect them from pollution?’” Girton said. 

For Cesar “C.J.” Cortorreal '20, the fellowship allows a continuation of academic research initiated at F&M.

“At F&M, I started a research project about comfortability. What does it mean to be comfortable in a space?” said Cortorreal, a Teach For America '20 corps member.

“London has little pockets of Black communities. I want to tap into that community and voice their experience within the education system,” he said. 

When Cortorreal returns, he hopes to apply his Fulbright experience "to continue to fight toward educational equity, wherever that path may lead me," he said.

F&M’s selectees are: 

1. Maureen Adames '22, ETA Taiwan
2. Mackenzie Blackwell '21, ETA Latvia
3. Paolo Caglioti '21, ETA Cameroon (also named an alternate to ETA Madagascar and ETA Mauritius)
4. Cesar “C.J.” Cortorreal '20, study/research, University College London/Institute of Education
5. Emily Ellsworth '22, ETA Bulgaria
6. Alison Geiger, '22, ETA Germany
7. Gabi Girton, '22, ETA Spain (Canary Islands)
8. Emma Steffan '22, ETA Slovak Republic
9. Will Thoman '21, ETA Germany

One F&M alumni is designated as an alternate for the program:  

1. Joshua Millman '22, ETA Finland

Two current F&M students also were named awardees of Fulbright Summer Institutes, a program run by the UK Fulbright Commission and open to first- and second-year students. Those selected are: 

1. Amy Liu '24
2. Emily Myers '24

Two of last year’s awardees – Eliot List ‘19 and Samantha Tran ‘21 – have been offered a second year of their Fulbright ETAs in Colombia and Taiwan, respectively. 

For the fifth consecutive year, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program recognized F&M among the top producing institutions. Top producing institutions are those with the highest numbers of graduating seniors and alumni awarded Fulbright scholarships for the academic year.