The designation comes after 11 Fordham students and alumni were selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2023-2024 school year. Currently serving in destinations that range from Côte D’Ivoire to South Korea, they have joined the ranks of hundreds of Fordham students chosen for the program since it began nearly 80 years ago. 

“Fulbright scholarships change lives, funding international student research opportunities and creating pathways to careers in academia, industry, and government,” said Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham. “Being a top producer of Fulbrights speaks to Fordham’s investment in scholarship and in our students; we are so gratified by their success.”

This is the sixth time Fordham has been recognized as a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. students in the past 15 years. The prestigious awards allow students to pursue a variety of international opportunities, including studying, teaching, and conducting research abroad.

Molly Gleason, a 2021 graduate of Fordham College at Rose Hill, is an English teaching assistant in Indonesia through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. She applied for the Fulbright after a rewarding summer study abroad program in the country two years earlier.

“I was certain I wanted to return to continue the cultural exchange, and what better way to do that than within a classroom? I teach 10th and 11th graders at a vocational high school in Pekanbaru, a city in Sumatra that rarely has foreigners (I am the only one in the whole city!),” she said. “One highlight of my grant has been the development of an ecology club for my students who have never been exposed to the environmental field. Pekanbaru’s natural areas became immersive classrooms, and together we explored and learned about the ecosystem.”

Fordham students apply for awards like the Fulbright through the Office of Prestigious Fellowships, which offers guidance and support throughout the application process.

“We are overjoyed to be recognized as a top producer,” said Lorna Ronald, Ph.D., director of the fellowships office, adding that the office is eager to “break down the myth that only one type of student can apply for a prestigious award such as a Fulbright.”

“The Fulbright program is an ideal fellowship for any student interested in cultural exchange—and we have many such students at Fordham,” said Ronald. “We work closely with each student as they think through their goals and plans and how a year overseas might benefit them and the community they seek to serve. We can’t wait to work with students again this year, and we encourage all who are curious about this opportunity to come and meet with us.”

Operating since 1946, the Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international academic exchange program. Fulbright alumni include 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 80 MacArthur Fellows, 41 heads of state or government, and 62 Nobel Laureates.

“Our students are curious and service-oriented, and at Fordham, they think deeply about justice and their place in the world,” said Lorna Ronald, Ph.D., director of Fordham’s Office of Prestigious Fellowships, adding that Fordham students are awarded Fulbrights every year. “We are excited to see our 10 Fulbright students continue to grow into global leaders through this transformative experience.”

From Long Island to Côte d’Ivoire

Schneider, a senior at Fordham College at Lincoln Center who earned his bachelor’s degrees in international studies and French and Francophone studies last February, was awarded an English teaching assistantship to Côte d’Ivoire. Schneider grew up in a predominantly white community on Long Island and said he’s enjoyed getting to know people from different backgrounds at Fordham. In his junior year, he took a Center for Community Engaged Learning course that sparked his interest in French-speaking countries in Africa. 

“Through the Francophone Communities in New York City class, taught by professor Isaie Dougnon who is from Mali and was a Fulbright Scholar, I explored different West African immigrant neighborhoods, including those with people from Côte d’Ivoire. That’s where I learned about and became interested in Francophone Africa,” Schneider said. “After reading books in multiple French classes about Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d’Ivoire, I also learned that it’s a really cool cultural center.” 

Throughout his four years at Fordham, Schneider also worked with children and teenagers at the nearby Lincoln Square Community Center, where he tutored students in English and mathematics through a work-study position with the America Reads and Counts Challenge program. He currently serves as a program director at the center.  

This fall, he will work at a school or neighborhood center in Côte d’Ivoire, where he will teach English for nine months. 

“I’m looking forward to teaching, exploring a different culture, and engaging with a demographic of people who aren’t like me but share common interests,” said Schneider, who plans to eventually attend graduate school and become a U.S. diplomat working with West African nations.

An Ohio Native with Teaching Experience in Kenya and Granada

Thurston, a senior in Fordham College at Rose Hill’s honors program who will be graduating this May with her bachelor’s degree in Spanish language and literature and minors in chemistry and biological sciences, was awarded an English teaching assistantship to Spain. 

Thurston was born and raised in Ohio. During high school and college, she taught English to elementary school students in Kenya, immigrants in Granada, and Fordham undergraduates at home. “It’s wonderful to see the progress that I’m able to make with all of my students and to feel like I’m making a difference in their lives,” Thurston said. 

While studying abroad in Granada as a Fordham student, she fell in love with Spain, its language, and the country’s “laid-back and community-oriented culture.” Through Fulbright, she found the perfect opportunity to return. 

During the upcoming school year, she will teach English to elementary school students in the Canary Islands in Spain, where she will also practice her Spanish. After she completes her Fulbright, she plans to attend medical school and pursue a career as a bilingual obstetrician and gynecologist who works in Spanish-speaking communities. 

“It’s one of the more interesting fields of medicine and generally a positive one. It’s also a field where the margins of care between white people and people of color, especially Black and Spanish-speaking patients, is really large, and I want to help to close that gap,” Thurston said. 

In addition to Schneider and Thurston, eight other students and alumni were awarded Fulbrights: 

• Briana Boland, FCLC ’19, who is originally from Colorado and earned her bachelor’s degree in international studies, was awarded the Taiwan National Chengchi University Award in Asia-Pacific Studies. 
• Molly Gleason, FCRH ’21, who is originally from Rhode Island and earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental science, was awarded an English teaching assistantship to Indonesia. 
• Rachel Irish, FCRH ’22, who is originally from New York and earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology, was awarded an English teaching assistantship to South Korea.
• Megan Johnson, FCLC ’20, GSE ’21, who is originally from California and earned her bachelor’s degrees in humanitarian studies and Spanish studies and her master’s degree in bilingual childhood education, was awarded an English teaching assistantship to Ecuador. 
• Anastasia McGrath, FCRH ’21, who is originally from New York and earned her bachelor’s degrees in international political economy and Chinese studies, was awarded an English teaching assistantship to Taiwan. 
• Grace Powers, FCRH ’23, who is originally from Kentucky and will be graduating with degrees in sociology and history, was awarded an English teaching assistantship to Estonia. 
• Madalyn Stewart, FCLC ’22, who is originally from Oregon and earned her bachelor’s degrees in political science and French and Francophone studies, was awarded a study/research award to France. 
• Miguel Sutedjo, FCRH ’23, who is originally from New Jersey and will graduate with his bachelor’s degrees in international political economy and music, was awarded an English teaching assistantship to Taiwan. 

 

Four students and alumni were also named Fulbright alternates:

• Dené Chung, FCLC ’21, who is originally from New Jersey and earned her bachelor’s degree in political science, was named an alternate for an English teaching assistantship to South Korea. (*Chung was selected for a Fulbright scholarship and is currently teaching English in South Korea.)
• Jillian Elba, FCRH ’23, who is originally from Massachusetts and will be graduating with her bachelor’s degrees in sociology and English, was named an alternate for an English teaching assistantship to Thailand. 
• Emma Jane Konkoly, FCLC ’23, who is originally from Massachusetts and will be graduating with her bachelor’s degree in international studies, was named an alternate for an English teaching assistantship to Estonia. 
• Alyssa Peralta, FCLC ’23, who is originally from Illinois and will be graduating with her bachelor’s degree in economics, was named an alternate for an English teaching assistantship to Mexico.

 

Yang was part of the first cohort of students to earn a B.S. in global business at the University’s Lincoln Center campus. She pursued a concentration in global finance and business economics and a second major, in interdisciplinary math and economics.

Yang also co-founded the Consulting Club at Fordham, after noticing a gender gap in the finance world. According to Forbes, women’s global representation on executive committees is only 20%. The club gave Gabelli students, many of them women, a chance to learn from each other and industry experts about “the problem-solving skills needed to effectively pair creativity and opportunity in the consulting world,” Yang said.

As a student, Yang worked as an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley and CIBC Capital Markets, and she is currently a partner and head of advisory services at the financial advising firm Coefficient Partners. Yang is best known for her blockchain startup IconFashion, which she calls a “dress-up game” for users’ NFT avatars—non-fungible tokens that serve as unique digital identifiers. Like the Fordham Consulting Club, which Yang called “the root of [her]entrepreneurship,” IconFashion came out of a lack of female representation, this time in the cryptocurrency and NFT spaces.

A Unique—and Selective—Program

“It’s something very unique,” Yang said about the Schwarzman program, which had over 3,000 applicants this year. “It’s a very small class—about 150 people this year—and from all different backgrounds.”

Lorna Ronald, Ph.D., director of Fordham’s Office of Prestigious Fellowships, described the Schwarzman award as “the scholarship for studying in China.”

“They’re really intentional about building a leadership community and having the cohort learn from each other,” she said.

One of the goals of the Schwarzman Scholars program is to “build a global network of young leaders that are prepared to confront the pressing challenges facing the world,” according to the press release announcing the Class of 2023–2024. “Scholars are selected based on their leadership qualities and the potential to understand and bridge cultural and political differences.”

Preparation, Research, and Self-Reflection in the Application Process

For Yang, the second Fordham student to be accepted to the program since Ran Niu, GABELLI ’16, the Schwarzman Scholarship will be an opportunity to deepen her knowledge of global affairs, to collaborate with students from diverse backgrounds, and to discover innovative ways to continue growing her business. Going through the application process, she said, “gave me a chance to take the time and connect the dots between school, work, my business, and what I want for my future.”

Yang’s experience with the application process echoes what Ronald told Fordham News in November, when she said that applying for prestigious awards gives students and alumni “a beautiful opportunity to think about [themselves]and [their]place in the world.” She said she encourages students to apply early in their undergraduate years, as a way to help clarify and pursue their academic and career goals. The office supports all students and alumni interested in applying for prestigious fellowships, like the Schwarzman Scholarship.

As for Yang, Ronald said, “Cheryl is really incredible. She is very, very thoughtful and deliberate about her path. She sees a situation that’s out of whack, and she says, ‘What can I do about it?’”

Yang encouraged Fordham students and alumni thinking about pursuing prestigious fellowships to become as knowledgeable as possible about the opportunities that are best for them.

“Do your own research, and talk to people who have been through the application process,” she said. “Each scholarship process is different. Find the one that really fits your own needs, and then prepare and research.”