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W&L a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students for Sixth Straight Year Washington and Lee was ranked third among the baccalaureate institutions recognized by the Fulbright Program.

By Emily Innes
February 13, 2024

Fulbright_StudentProd2024_500x500-350x350 W&L a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students for Sixth Straight Year

Washington and Lee University is proud to be included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2023-2024 Fulbright U.S. students for the sixth consecutive year. Each year, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the top producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

Washington and Lee was ranked third among the baccalaureate institutions recognized by the Fulbright Program.

The Fulbright Program is among the largest and most diverse exchange programs in the world. Since 1946, the program has provided more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad. Fulbrighters exchange ideas, build connections and work to address complex global challenges.

“Fulbright’s Top Producing Institutions represent the diversity of America’s higher education community,” said Lee Satterfield, assistant secretary of state for Educational and Cultural Affairs. “Dedicated administrators support students and scholars at these institutions to fulfill their potential and rise to address tomorrow’s global challenges. We congratulate them, and all the Fulbrighters who are making an impact the world over.”

Fourteen students from W&L were selected for Fulbright awards for the 2023-2024 academic year, and 13 accepted the grant. Together, they represent a range of backgrounds, academic interests and professional goals, and embarked on their Fulbright programs to expand their worldview and foster their service-minded ambitions.

  • Ava Boussy ’23 was awarded a Fulbright-Nehru research grant to study Buddhist shrines and temples in Ladakh, India.
  • Finn Connor ’23 was awarded a Fulbright ETA to Germany.
  • James Dixon ’23 was awarded a Fulbright ETA to Taiwan.
  • Kamryn Godsey ’23 was awarded a Fulbright ETA to Taiwan.
  • Maggie Hawley ’23 was awarded a Fulbright ETA to Spain.
  • Lily Mott ’23 was awarded a Fulbright Master of Arts Degree Award to study digital media and society at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom.
  • Tanajia Moye-Green ’23 was awarded a Fulbright Master of Sciences Degree Award to study criminal justice and penal change at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.
  • Avalon Pernell ’23 was awarded a Fulbright Young Professional Journalist Program Award to Germany to conduct independent research and gain practice-oriented experience.
  • Annie Talton ’21 was awarded a Fulbright ETA through the Roma Student Initiative to Hungary.
  • Andrew Tartakovsky ’23 was awarded a Fulbright ETA to Azerbaijan, his parents’ homeland.
  • Andrea Rojas ’23 was awarded a Fulbright ETA to Mexico.
  • Allie Stankewich ’23 was awarded a Fulbright ETA to Uganda.

The Fulbright competition is administered at W&L by Matthew Loar, director of fellowships and student research, with the support of the university’s Fellowships Committee.

“It takes a village to assemble a competitive fellowship application, and our continued success with the Fulbright program speaks to the hard work and commitment of our students, faculty and staff,” Loar said. “I am gratified to see how popular the Fulbright program has become among our students, and I remain deeply impressed by the quality of the applications that our students assemble year after year.”

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program. The program was established more than 75 years ago to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries.

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors and the world and have included 41 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 80 MacArthur Fellows and countless leaders and changemakers who build mutual understanding between the people of the United State and the people of other countries.

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org/. W&L students interested in applying for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program should contact Matthew Loar in the Houston H. Harte Center for Teaching and Learning (Leyburn 114) or by email at mloar@wlu.edu.

Where Are They Now?

As a top-producing institution, W&L has demonstrated a commitment to global connection and to ensuring its alumni become engaged citizens and thoughtful leaders.

Lily Mott ’23 received a Fulbright Master of Arts Degree Award to study at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. A double major in journalism and politics, she hopes to pursue a career at the BBC following her Fulbright program and work as an international correspondent between the UK and the U.S.

For Avalon Pernell ’23, receiving the Fulbright Young Professional Journalist Program Award to Germany allows her to pursue her passion for international business journalism through hands-on experience and mentorship.

Students who received an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) have a unique opportunity to forge meaningful connections by serving as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. and engaging in their host community beyond their teaching responsibilities.

Being awarded an ETA to Azerbaijan was of personal significance to Andrew Tartakovsky ’23, whose parents were born and raised in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic and emigrated to the U.S. shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Andrea Rojas ’23 received an ETA to Mexico and also appreciates the opportunity to learn more about her family’s roots and immerse herself in Mexican culture. “This program gives me the chance to help a community that very much could have been my own if my parents had decided to start their family in Mexico,” she said.

Read about W&L alumni’s “Life After Fulbright” here.