Fulbright Scholars
Olivia Gervacio Jakabosky, Kayla Hay, and Mikaela Byers are 3 MSU students awarded prestegious Fulbright grants for 2023.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistant Programs. A candidate will submit a Statement of Grant Purpose defining activities to take place during one academic year in a participating country outside the U.S.
During their grants, Fulbrighters will meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think.
Through engagement in the community, the individual will interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.
Montana State University has produced 24 Fulbright Scholars since 2010. Learn more about each of them below!
24
Fulbright Scholars have come from MSU since 201039
Fulbright Scholars have come from MSU since the scholarship's founding.
Meet our Fulbright Scholars
Olivia Gervacio Jakabosky | 2023
"The distinctive personal qualities that make Olivia stand out are her keen interest in science and her dedication to exploring opportunities within and outside MSU to hone her ecological research skills."
Hometown:
Cameron Park, California
Field of Study:
Conservation Biology and Ecology with minors in Sociology and Global Studies
Kayla Hay | 2023
"I really want to teach German in the U.S. eventually, and having time immersed in the country will make me a much more qualified German educator than if I hadn’t had that time over there."
Hometown:
Wrangell, Alaska
Field of Study:
German and Secondary Education
Mikaela Byers | 2023
"I will bring this motivation to the classroom in Colombia so that my students feel supported to achieve their language goals. In Colombia, I will not only be a caring educator, but an eager student – excited to learn from my students and fellow teachers."
Hometown:
Santa Cruz, California
Field of Study:
Political Science
Jack Pearson | 2022
“It’s an intriguing topic because the river is a complicated water resource, located in one of the most water-scarce countries on the planet.”
Hometown:
Evergreen, Colorado
Field of Study:
Directed Interdisciplinary Studies combining History of Science, the Environment, Technology and Society; English and Cell Biology and Neuroscience
Hannah Telling | 2020
"I want to focus on how memories of various events are integrated into the classroom in the form of instructional units. This will allow me to study how Serbian classrooms’ use of memory impacts identity and community structures which, in return, will inform my teaching practices and integration of (Indian Education for All) back in Montana.”
Hometown:
Dillon, Montana
Fields of Study:
English Education, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Morgan Craig | 2019
“I am excited most for meeting students from all over the world and getting a more diverse cultural experience. It’s also going to be cool to experience the U.K. and its culture. I know it’s still an English-speaking country, but I think there are going to be a lot of really cool things I get to learn.”
Learn more about Morgan's experience>>
Hometown:
Billings, Montana
Field of Study:
History
McCall Voy | 2019
“I would teach our exchange students; they would teach me. would ask a million questions and sort of pester them over and over. ‘What’s it like there? What’s this and that like?’ I was just fascinated by other countries, and I didn’t realize at the time that I chose my life’s path. I love languages and started learning new ones.”
Hometown:
Great Falls, Montana
Fields of Study:
Liberal Studies, Anthropology, French
Hannah Wilson | 2019
“Colleagues I met at the tribunal who grew up during the Yugoslav wars inspired me to learn more about their histories and cultures. I plan to learn as much as I teach. I believe classrooms are important channels for diplomacy, and I am excited to share my Montana culture with students in Serbia. I hope they will share theirs with me.”
Hometown:
Kalispell, Montana
Field of Study:
History, Economics
Lauren Adams | 2018
“Ultimately, I hope this work will enable me to establish worldwide friendships and come home a better learner and teacher. I’ve never been outside of the U.S. so I thought it would be perfect for me."
Learn more about Lauren's experience>>
Hometown:
Belgrade, Montana
Field of Study:
English
Susan Massar | 2018
“Just when I was getting comfortable with language proficiency and had made a group of friends in Chile, it was already time to go home. The opportunity to return with a Fulbright in an ag-related research capacity is amazing.”
Hometown:
Circle, Montana
Fields of Study:
Crop Science, Natural Resources, Rangeland Ecology, Hispanic Studies
Sarah Coldiron | 2017
“I’ve worked on ways to make foreign language content relatable to students, which I think will help as I teach English to students in South Korea."
Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Field of Study: English
Maureen Kessler | 2017
“Maureen is an excellent student whose research is at the interface of public health and environmental change. She will be working on a high profile bat-virus system that is considered a model system for Ebola, Marburg and Nipah virus--all pathogens that are potential pandemic threats.”
Hometown: Los Lunas, New Mexico
Field of Study: Ecology
Karsten Lorentz | 2016
"Ever since I was little, I was fascinated with how things work. By working with geology, I can slowly learn about the largest and most complex thing there is -- the Earth itself. With my family, it has always been a trend that nearly every moment after you walk out the door in the morning (and occasionally before), life is a grand adventure."
Hometown: Wenatchee, Washington
Field of Study: Geology
Casianne Lund | 2016
"Lund’s experience in Senegal led Lund to apply for a Fulbright in Malaysia, a part of the world she has not yet visited and which has another set of languages and customs. She will teach English there and hopes to use her interest in women’s studies to develop an after school reading program for girls that will use English literature to facilitate discussion of girl’s issues in the Muslim country."
Hometown: Darien, Illinois
Fields of Study: Psychology, French, Women's Studies
Megan Rothstein | 2015
"For a while I waffled between patient care and research, but after working in Renee’s lab and seeing that there is this real potential that we can make some of these diseases obsolete, it became really clear. I really like the lab experience. It just happens that I’ve been really fortunate in having this chance to work with someone doing groundbreaking research at MSU. I’ve been really lucky.”
Hometown: Billings, Montana
Field of Study: Cell Biology & Neuroscience
Brent Zundel | 2015
“The more I researched Chile more I was hooked. Chile's landscape is second to none, transitioning from the Atacama – the driest desert in the world – in the north to a Mediterranean-like central valley and then to fjords, mountains and rivers in Patagonia. Having grown up in Montana, I found that landscape very compelling.”
Hometown: Billings, Montana
Fields of Study: Civil Engineering, Spanish
Mica Jenkins | 2014
“I think it is important to think about sustainable agricultural development in terms of the local context. My research will include surveys, interviews and focus groups with people in different communities to see which varieties of potato they prefer and which are drought tolerant.”
Hometown: Lenoir City, Tennesse
Field of Study: Sustainable Food Systems
Gabe Lavin | 2014
"I am exploring different cultures through the art of music. Oman is in the midst of a musical renaissance. I want to help bring different cultures together through music, and Oman is the ideal place to do it."
Hometown: Bozeman, Montana
Field of Study: Anthropology
Elizabeth Browning | 2013
"I think I first started studying German because few people took it and my friend and I thought we could talk together and no one would understand us But, I quickly developed a love for the German language and culture. "The more I learned, the more I was inspired. It's such an interesting country."
Hometown:
Fields of Study: English, German Studies
Angela Brennan | 2012
"Wildebeest are the dominant herbivore on the landscape," Brennan said. "Like bison once did on the Great Plains of North America, they play a pivotal role in the Liuwa region's ecology. And that's why working on their conservation is so important. Part of this will be trying to definitively map out where the villages and cattle grazing areas are and how they intersect with migration routes."
Hometown: Minnesota
Field of Study:
Ecology
Dan Cornish | 2011
"Cornish, who is now completing course requirements that will allow him to apply to medical school, said that when he first arrived at MSU as a freshman he was "unfocused and undirected." He credits excellent faculty at MSU who inspired him -- Ian van Coller and Kyle Bajakian in photography, Nora Smith, then in University Studies, and Russell Walker in math."
Learn more about Dan's experience>>
Hometown: Butte, Montana
Field of Study: Math, Photography
Sasha Dingle | 2011
"Dingle came to MSU to ski on the alpine team and is leaving with a commitment to complete a Ph.D. and pursue a career in global public health and social work. Dingle said her life plans were transformed by her position at the MSU Leadership Institute and a University Honors Program trip to the Dominican Republic, which stirred an interest in international development and health."
Learn more about Sasha's experience>>
Hometown: Jericho, Vermont
Field of Study: Psychology
Jayme Kreitinger | 2011
"Kreitinger, who has helped countless MSU students see the world with international student exchanges, knows what it is like to have an itch to travel. She completed two exchanges when she was an MSU undergraduate majoring in modern languages. Her first, her sophomore year, was to Spain. While there she took an excursion to Morocco, which she called 'a magical experience.'"
Hometown: Manhattan, Montana
Field of Study: Public Administration
Jill Roberts | 2010
"Jill combines intellectual ambition with a generosity of spirit and a commitment to hard work," Simpson said. "She's so well-rounded and energetic--she plays violin, studies math and German, and tutors in her field. The Fulbright is a wonderful opportunity for her to gain teaching experience and for her students and co-workers to benefit from her expertise as well."
Learn more about Jill's experience>>
Hometown: Billings, Montana
Field of Study: Math Education
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