Wesleyan Fulbright Fellows Embark on Global Journeys of Curiosity

Six members of the Wesleyan community have accepted grants through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, a prestigious international academic exchange program that offers graduates, graduate students, and young professionals opportunities to study, research, or teach English abroad in over 140 countries.

During the 2024-25 academic year, this year’s cohort — which includes Melanie Cham ’24, Eliot Kimball ’24, Sophie Mann-Shafir ’22, Daisy Montoya ’24, Simon Worth ’24, and Joanna Paul ’18 — brings their skills, interests, and curiosity to a far-flung geography spanning Argentina to India to Madagascar.

The prestige of Fulbright experiences helps open doors to exploration and opportunities for graduates, said Erica Kowsz, associate director for fellowships at the Fries Center for Global Studies. At the same time, these fellowships require a degree of self-starting that enables Wesleyans to build independence as they learn and grow into their careers.

“We give students a great set of tools at Wesleyan, and this is a good way for them to put it to the test,” Kowsz said. “And even if it gets a little rough, it’s very empowering in the long term [for graduates] to realize, ‘That might have been tough at times, but it’s something that I’m capable of.’”

Named one of Fulbright’s Top Producing Institutions for five straight years, Wesleyan provides comprehensive support throughout the application process, including through a committee that makes endorsement decisions and provides feedback and guidance aimed at helping applicants tailor their proposals.  “It’s quite the cross-campus effort, but it’s great because we have so many faculty and staff members on the committee who have real familiarity with these different corners of the world and they can offer real insight into the application—what’s feasible, what makes sense for the cultural context,” Kowsz said.

Driven by a passion for storytelling and social change, Kimball ’24 will spend his Fulbright year in Argentina teaching English and pursuing an independent documentary film project on the country’s growing refugee population. “I’ve always been a strong believer in storytelling as a powerful tool for creating social change,” said Kimball, who previously directed Free Maleek, a short documentary that helped spur the release of a wrongfully incarcerated Connecticut man.

With a background in Film and Spanish from Wesleyan, Kimball said Argentina’s diverse cultural landscape presents an ideal setting to pursue language learning opportunities as well as broaden his own perspective. “I’m looking forward to amplifying more untold stories like these during my time in Argentina,” he said.

For Cham ’24, who will be traveling to India to engage in geologic research, her decision to apply for a Fulbright fellowship came at the last minute, after feeling torn between pursuing a Ph.D. and taking a break from the intensity of academic life. “I felt that I was leaving a lot behind,” she said, “but I had to constantly remind myself that everything would be there when I got back.”

Cham saw the Fulbright opportunity as a chance to explore passions outside of work while continuing her research in paleontology: Cham will join a project reconstructing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels during the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. In addition, Cham is excited to learn from a culture different from her own. “I’m looking forward to seeing and being surrounded by the things I have only heard about in a classroom,” Cham said.

Montoya ’24, who graduated with a double major in psychology and education studies, is journeying to Mexico to teach English while exploring the curiosity for language instruction she acquired as a student teacher in the Spanish department. “Being in Mexico allows me to engage more in language learning while working with students who are also Mexican, just like me,” Montoya said. “. . . I hope to establish a more holistic experience with teaching that will allow me to continue working with people of different age ranges and backgrounds.”

For  Paul ’18, who studied abroad in Berlin in 2016, returning to Germany’s capital as an English teaching assistant in an elementary school represents a welcome reprise.

“My six months studying abroad in Berlin in 2016 as a Wesleyan sophomore were some of the happiest and most fulfilling of my life,” Paul said. “I’ve been eager to return ever since.”

It’s also a chance to shift gears: After three intense years at the University of Illinois Chicago, where she earned a master’s degrees in public health and social work, she’s looking forward to spending 12 to 14 hours a week at an elementary school, reconnecting with old family and friends, building new connections, volunteering, and improving her German. “I am excited to approach this year with an open mind and a spirit of exploration, knowing that the connections I make, the places I visit, and the skills I develop will all contribute to my future career in the U.S. and beyond.”

Mann-Shafir ’22, who has worked as a staff reporter for The Provincetown Independent newspaper on Cape Cod, said she’s looking forward to breaking away from weekly deadlines and applying the skills she has gained on deeper research into the history and current climate around abortion access in Italy. “Like in the U.S., abortion has a liminal status between being a healthcare right and a moral question,” Mann-Shafit said. “Italy has had a codified right to abortion since 1978, but a clause within that law allows medical professionals to choose not to perform the procedure if they object on the basis of conscience or morality. I’ll be researching how the two individual rights — to abortion and to not perform abortion — developed alongside each other.”

“I’m not sure where my professional path will take me,” Mann-Shafir added, “but I’m excited to see where this next chapter leads.”