Several University of Minnesota students and recent graduates have received grants from the Fulbright U. S. Student Program to study and teach abroad during the 2025-26 academic year. Additionally, one graduate student has been selected for the Fulbright Scholar Program.
The Fulbright Program was created and funded by Congress in 1946 to promote international goodwill through the exchange of students and scholars in all areas of education, culture and science. Students may apply to carry out independent research projects, teach English or engage in post-graduate degree studies. The program awards approximately 1,900 grants annually across all fields of study in more than 140 countries worldwide.
Marie Ronnander has received a Fulbright award to carry out research at the University of Girona in Spain. Marie graduated this spring with a major in biochemistry and a minor in Spanish. For the last two years, she has been working with Professor Lawrence Wackett to develop enzymes with the potential to break down PFAS in the environment. At the University of Girona, she will build on this research with Professor Silvia Osuna Oliveras, a computational chemist. Marie has demonstrated a commitment to communicating effectively about science as a writer and executive director at The Wake Magazine. In the future she plans to complete a Ph.D. and solve problems of environmental toxicology.
Madison Cocker graduated this spring with a degree in biomedical engineering and will conduct research at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Tübingen in Germany. She began her college education at South Dakota State University on a softball scholarship, but a summer research experience at the University of Minnesota led her to transfer to the Twin Cities campus. Since the fall of 2023 she has worked with Professor Kathryn Schwertfeger of the department of lab medicine and pathology in the Medical School on oncogenic signaling pathways in tumor cells. In the fall, she will begin a project with Dr. Professor Katja Schenke-Layland at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Tübingen to develop new treatment procedures for patients suffering from Type 1 diabetes. Additionally, Madison has worked for the last three years as a nursing assistant at Olmstead Medical Center and has been a project leader with Engineers Without Borders on campus. After completing her studies, she plans to serve with Doctors Without Borders to address global health emergencies and inequities.
Sayumi Ranasinghe has been offered a Fulbright award to conduct research at the University of Veterinary Medicine at Hannover, Germany. This spring she completed a microbiology major with minors in pharmacology and German. In her freshman year, she began investigating the genetics of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis with Professor Anna Tischler. She recently completed her Honors thesis examining the roles of cytosolic chaperones in protein substrate recognition and secretion in M. tuberculosis. Sayumi spent the summer of 2024 in Hannover with the German Academic Exchange RISE program studying the infectious bursal disease virus and working with Professor Silke Rautenschlein, who will oversee her Fulbright project. After her year in Germany, Sayumi plans to complete a Ph.D. to prepare for a career of research in zoonotic diseases.
Vanessa Czeszynski will carry out research at the University of Oslo in Norway. Vanessa is a Ph.D. student in the department of ecology, evolution and behavior in the College of Biological Sciences, with a B.S. and M.Sc. from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse in aquatic biology. She will conduct research investigating freshwater microbial communities in unique lakes in Norway that are early Earth analogs. By using these systems to better understand Earth's past, we can learn more about what to expect in the future with the rising impact of greenhouse gases. Vanessa is also hoping to connect with the broader Norwegian community through science outreach events with the University of Bergen.
Riley Tollefsrud graduated this spring from the Morris campus with degrees in psychology and Spanish. Tollefsrud earned an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) award and will spend nine months teaching English in Spain, where he will work together in classrooms with local English teachers. The age and academic level of students will vary by assignment, ranging from kindergarten to university level. His responsibilities will include helping teach English language skills and engaging in community projects while serving as cultural ambassadors for the U.S.
Ryan Kiesel will be spending the year in Norway as a Fulbright-U.S. Roving Scholar in American Studies after completing his Ph.D. in elementary education. While living in Oslo, Ryan will travel around the country hosting pedagogy workshops with Norwegian elementary students and teachers. As both a practicing elementary school teacher and a pedagogy researcher, Ryan works to engage diverse learners through interdisciplinary, thematic instruction and anti-oppressive pedagogy. Ryan helps children explore local history and ecology while learning through thematic instruction and dynamic, layered lesson structures. Through his teaching, students might create plays, work on collaborative writing to explore social studies concepts or develop interpretive materials for public lands and regional parks that give children access to science content. By combining creativity, play, research, arts and science, thematic instruction allows for language acquisition, content development and skill practice.
Graduates Reed Grumann and Jamison Ward were offered Fulbright awards in Finland and Germany respectively, but chose to accept other opportunities. Four more 2025 graduates — Jinhyoung Bang, Ev Cho, Ben Lu and Grace Meierhofer — were named as alternates for English teaching assistantships with Fulbright programs in South Korea, Spain and Argentina.
Current undergraduates and recent graduates who are interested in applying for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program should contact Timothy Jones or Ja’de Lin Till in the Office of National and International Scholarships, [email protected] or 612-624-5522. Graduate students should contact the Graduate Fellowships Office, [email protected].
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