Macalester Named Top Fulbright Producer

St. Paul, Minn. – Macalester was again named as a top producer of U.S. Student Fulbright awards. This is the third consecutive year, and the 10th time in the last 15 years, that Macalester has received this honor.

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.

Macalester qualified as one of the top institutions in the country because of eight students who were awarded Fulbright awards for 2019-2020.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 390,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit eca.state.gov/fulbright.

Macalester Fulbright Fellows, 2019

Alec Beatty received an ETA to Kosovo.  A Political Science major and History Minor from Topeka, Kan., Beatty will provide English Language assistance to junior high/high school level students in Kosovo, a country situated in the Balkan region of Europe.

Alia Benedict from Manchester, Mich., who majored in Biology with a minor in German Studies, received a Research/Study Grant to Germany.  Benedict is appreciative that she can continue studying Biology and German Studies simultaneously and have the ability to conduct research on a global scale and engage in partnerships with fellow students, researchers, and professors from different backgrounds.

Mirella Greenberg, a Psychology major with a minor in Educational Studies and a Concentration in Human Rights and Humanitarianism, received an ETA to Spain. Originally from Cambridge, Mass., she will assist in bilingual English/Spanish classrooms and prepare high school students for the Global Classrooms: Model United Nations Program in Madrid, which will include helping students with their language skills primarily in English classrooms, and giving English instruction to teachers and staff.

Margot Robison from Kansas City, Mo., received an ETA to Germany. The Economics major, with a concentration in Community and Global Health, will spend 10 months in a German school in the Nordrhein-Westphalen region assisting students with English language learning and providing them with an American perspective of U.S. culture.

Alana Schreiber, from Montclair, N.J., received an ETA to Malaysia. An International Studies Major with a double minor in Studio Art and Media and Cultural Studies, Schreiber will be working as an English Teaching Assistant at a secondary school, most likely in a rural village, and assisting students in extracurricular activities.

Daniel Szetela received an ETA to Russia. A double major in Political Science and Russian Studies from Acton, Mass., Szetela will be teaching English at a university in Russia, which will consist both of language teaching and cultural education about life in the United States, and he hopes to develop his teaching skills to more effectively and engagingly convey material to students.

Chelsea Valdez-Gutierrez received an ETA to Brazil. A Spanish major with minors in Sociology and Data Science, Valdez-Gutierrez will be teaching English to college age students and “working with at-risk youth or any organization that works with children to offer them support and opportunities,” she said.

Rachel Wong received an ETA to Taiwan. She’s an International Studies major, with minors in Asian Studies and Geography, from Avondale Estates, Ga. Wong feels a Fulbright will improve her intercultural competence, and combined with other Department of State scholarships, such as the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, she’ll have an opportunity to travel abroad to engage in cultural diplomacy.