Record Number of Holy Cross Graduates Receive Fulbright Grants

11 new alumni to teach and conduct research abroad

Eleven recent graduates from the College of the Holy Cross have been awarded Fulbright grants to work and teach abroad during the 2012-13 academic year. This marks a record high number of Fulbrights awarded in a single year for the College. Since 2003, Holy Cross has received a total of 54 Fulbrights, and has consistently been among the nation’s top producers of Fulbright students at the undergraduate level.

The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is widely recognized as the most prestigious international exchange program in the world. The highly competitive grants are awarded on the basis of academic merit and professional promise.

This year's recipients are headed to Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

"I am very excited not only with the places and the numbers but also with overall participation," said Anthony Cashman, director of Distinguished Fellowships and Graduate Studies at the College. "We have record numbers in total number of applicants, 55, and finalists, 28. I have already met with many in the class of 2013, and I look forward to working with this year's candidates.

"In the end, the most important aspect of our Fulbright accomplishment is that the individuals who participate in this process learn a lot about themselves and their futures. And for the students who win, the Fulbright is a life-changing experience. Fulbrighters are not tourists. They become bona fide members of the communities in which they live, study, and work, and they gain every bit as much as they contribute."

Each year approximately 1,000 college students are awarded grants through the Fulbright Program. Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Since the program’s inception in 1946, more than 300,000 participants have had the opportunity to observe each other’s political, economic and cultural institutions.

This year’s recipients are:



Joseph Cavanaugh '12, of Plymouth, Mass., has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Madrid, where he will teach English to Spanish high school students. A political science major, he also plans to pursue his interest in international politics while in Spain. Cavanaugh is interested in pursuing a career in public service. Read more »
Mattea Cumoletti '12, of Guilderland, N.Y., has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Italy, where she will teach English to Italian high school students. A history major and anthropology minor, Cumoletti also plans to conduct an ethnographic study comparing the way the Italian education system treats native children versus immigrant children. Cumoletti plans to attend graduate or law school and pursue a career in international educational policy. Read more »
Caroline Galiatsos '12, of West Springfield, Mass., has received a Fulbright grant to travel to Luxembourg in September. An English major, she will research how civic education among schools in the country impacts students' perceptions of their multicultural and multilingual identities, which in turn influences their concepts of citizenship. She plans to attend law school and pursue a career in educational policy or public policy. Read more »
Daniel Geiger '11, of Maple Plain, Minn., has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Sri Lanka, where he will teach English to Sri Lankan students. He was a sociology major with concentrations in both African Studies and Asian Studies. Upon completion of his Fulbright, Geiger intends to enroll in a master's or Ph.D. program in order to begin his career in international development work, which he hopes will eventually take him back to work with people in Sri Lankan communities. Read more »
Eliza Gettel '12, of Merrimack, N.H., has received a Fulbright grant to pursue a master of arts in social archaeology at the University of Southampton in the U.K. next year. A classics major, she will build upon her two undergraduate theses and study the influence of antiquity on modern Greek politics. Upon her completion of the Fulbright, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in classics and ancient history at Harvard University, where she has already been accepted. Read more »
Heidi Grek '12, of Auburn, Mass., has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Germany, where she will teach English to German high school students. An English major with a German minor and a creative writing concentration, she will also take German literature courses at a local university and volunteer at a nursing home. She hopes to attain a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing or attend graduate school in English literature, with the goal of becoming a writer, editor or publisher. Read more »
Maria Jaroszewicz '12, of East Longmeadow, Mass., has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Poland, where she will teach English to Polish students. A classics major and a visual arts studio minor, Jaroszewicz has already devoted time to teaching English as a second language. She hopes that the Fulbright experience shapes her career plans. Read more »
Jaeyeon Lee '12, of Norwood, Mass., has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Korea, where she will teach English at an elementary school in rural Korea. An English major, Lee also plans to learn more about the birthplace of her parents, and strengthen her Korean language skills. Following the Fulbright, Lee plans to join Teach for America, to which she has already been accepted. Read more »
Courtney Lesoon '12, of Pittsburgh, has received a Fulbright grant to travel to the United Arab Emirates. An art history major with a self-created Middle Eastern Studies minor from Pittsburgh, she will investigate perceptions of the Middle East as expressed in its exported visual culture. Her research will take place in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Following the Fulbright, Lesoon intends to continue her studies of Islamic art by pursuing a Master of Arts followed by a Ph.D. in Islamic art history. Read more »
George Matthews '12, of Westwood, Mass., has been awarded a Fulbright grant to study in the U.K. next year. In September, Matthews, a classics major with a self-designed minor in legal studies, will begin classes at the University of Liverpool, where he will participate in a one-year master's program in classics. He plans to become a professor of classics. Read more »
Peter Renehan '12, of Cheshire, Conn., has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Indonesia for next year. A chemistry major with concentrations in both the premed and Environmental Studies programs, Renehan will teach English in a rural high school. He plans to attend medical school following the Fulbright. Read more »
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