2024-2025 Recipients
We invite you to get to know Bowdoin’s 2024-2025 national fellowship recipients. Below you will find a brief profile of each awardee, organized by award type.
Austrian Government English Teaching Assistantship
Carolina is an English and German double major with a passion for creative writing, translation, and empowering voices through storytelling. In the fall, Carolina will travel to Schärding, Austria, where she will serve as a US Teaching Assistant. Carolina plans to work with local storytellers and budding writers of all ages to facilitate a weekly writing group and host regular community readings at a local café or community center. At Bowdoin Carolina wore many hats, including: senior editor and writer for The Quill, principal second violinist for the Bowdoin Symphony Orchestra, Masque & Gown artistic director, Orient photographer, research assistant, and English and German learning assist.
Beinecke Scholarship
As a History major and Cinema Studies minor, Phoebe is interested in exploring video games as modes of storytelling, especially in relation to legacy media such as film and television. Over the course of her studies at Bowdoin, she explored how methods used in cinema studies can contribute to the discussion of video game form and narrative. The Beinecke Scholarship offers students pursuing graduate school financial support, which Phoebe plans to use in a program for Cinema and Media Studies. After graduate school, she hopes to enter into academia and continue teaching new generations about video games.
Critical Language Scholarship
Ahmed is a Neuroscience and Physics major on the pre-med track at Bowdoin College. He received a CLS Spark scholarship from the U.S. Department of State to study Japanese through a virtual intensive summer program. After taking Latin at Bowdoin, he found it easier to explore Romance languages independently, but non-Romance languages felt less accessible. He is using this opportunity to begin learning Japanese and hopes it will open the door to future study of languages like Korean or Chinese. At Bowdoin, he served as president of BUMP (Bowdoin Underrepresented in Medical Professions) and the Muslim Student Alliance. He plans to apply to medical school in the 2026-2027 cycle.
Critical Language Scholarship
As a recipient of the Critical Language Scholarship, Owen will spend eight weeks this summer intensively studying Mandarin Chinese at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. Owen’s passion for learning Mandarin was sparked by his grandparents, who taught him words and phrases while cooking Chinese dishes and playing Mahjong. As an Asian Studies-Environmental Studies major and History minor, Owen will build on four years of Mandarin coursework at Bowdoin and a semester abroad in Taipei to deepen his understanding of Taiwan’s vibrant culture. After CLS, Owen plans to use his language skills to advance international climate diplomacy and cooperation.
Critical Language Scholarship
As a recipient of the US Department of State Critical Language Scholarship, Volodymyr will study Russian in an intensive eight-week program in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He credits his deepening interest in Russian language and history to Bowdoin’s unparalleled REEES professors, Reed Johnson and Page Herrlinger, both of whom inspired his history research as an Alfred E. Golz Fellowship recipient. A History and Government & Legal Studies major and a REEES minor, Volodymyr completed an internship with the Center for Civil Liberties in Kyiv, Ukraine, as well as volunteered with the World Central Kitchen in Przemysl, Poland.
Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals Fellowship
Adepoju will spend a year in Germany as a CBYX fellow, learning German, studying, interning, and living with a host family as a cultural ambassador. Originally from Springfield, Illinois, he is excited to build international companionship through sports and language. With a coordinate major in Earth and Oceanographic Science & Environmental Studies, Adepoju is committed to addressing climate change through sustainable, equitable, and efficient transportation. Inspired by experiences in Denmark and Japan, Adepoju aims to become a transportation planner post-CBYX. At Bowdoin, Adepoju was a hurdler and captain of the track team, documenting his student-athlete experience on his YouTube channel.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Czechia
After graduating from Bowdoin with a double major in Classical Studies and History, Charlie will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Czechia, working as an informal cultural ambassador and classroom instructor in a Czech secondary school. While an undergraduate at Bowdoin, Charlie worked in a number of educational positions over summer breaks, including teaching art, woodworking, philosophy, and history. Originally from London, England and Rye, New York, Charlie is excited to live and teach abroad for the year as well as inspire connections across borders.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Taiwan
Graduating from Bowdoin with majors in Earth and Oceanographic Science and Asian Studies, next year Samuel will serve as a teacher in Taiwan through the Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships. Samuel's experiences as a trail crew leader, learning assistant at Bowdoin, and nordic coach created his passion for teaching. He is excited to continue to develop his language skills, and share his love for swing dance, geology, and climbing in Taiwan. Following his time there, Samuel is looking forward to a career in education, international relations, or law.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Mongolia
Elisabeth (Ellie) Chan is a Biochemistry major and Visual Arts minor from Redding, CT. At Bowdoin, she served as Lead Writing Assistant, a BOC trip and orientation leader, and board member of two pre-health organizations. She developed a love of research at Bowdoin and will continue her studies in a Master’s program in Oral Health Sciences at the University of Michigan. She will pause her studies for a year to teach in Mongolia as an ETA. Ellie plans to pursue dentistry and use these experiences to deliver culturally informed, patient-centered care to address oral health disparities.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Vietnam
After graduating from Bowdoin with a double major in Economics and Mathematics and a minor in Religion, Tej will serve as a cultural ambassador and English Teaching Assistant in Vietnam. At Bowdoin, he has merged interests in education and business as an afterschool teacher at Bath Middle School, student leader of Bowdoin’s Consulting Group, and part-time employee at multiple venture-backed startups. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Tej was drawn to Vietnam’s growing business landscape. In addition to teaching English to his high-school students, Tej looks forward to mentoring students interested in entrepreneurship. After Fulbright, he will join Bain & Company and later pursue an MBA.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Taiwan
John will spend the year as an English Teaching Assistant in New Taipei City, Taiwan. At Bowdoin, he majored in Biology (Ecology), minored in Mandarin Chinese, and studied English and creative writing. Extracurricularly, he led the Bowdoin Longfellows a Capella group and the Bowdoin Improvabilities. John marries his passion for the natural world with his love of creative storytelling through conservation media. His senior spring, he co-hosted a radio talk show and wrote an opinion column in The Orient, both focused on the natural world. He hopes to engage with Taiwan’s biodiversity and methods of storytelling to inform his work as an ecological storyteller.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Spain
Jennifer, a Psychology major and Philosophy minor from Winslow, Maine, will teach English in Spain through the Fulbright ETA program. At Bowdoin, she researched emotional care and play-based learning while working at the Children’s Center. As a college teaching assistant, she deepened her commitment to inclusive, creative classrooms. Through Bear Buddies and years of youth volunteer coaching, she understands joy and silliness to be essential for education. In rural Asturias, she plans to interview children and elders, sharing their stories through her writing to foster cross-cultural and intergenerational connection.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, France
Siena majored in Education and Romance Languages at Bowdoin, and will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Paris, France. She is a Bowdoin Teacher Scholar, having earned her certification to teach grades K-12 French after four months of student teaching. She discovered a passion for teaching through experiences as an Upward Bound guide, a French and Italian learning assistant at Bowdoin, a music teacher in The Gambia, West Africa, and an Assistant Head Tour Guide at Bowdoin. As a future French teacher, she is excited to bring her love of languages and cultural exchange to the classroom in France.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Spain
After graduating from Bowdoin, Jackie will be working as an English Teaching Assistant in the Canary Islands (Spain) through the Fulbright Program. During her time at Bowdoin, Jackie majored in Romance Languages and Literature as well as Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. She was a captain on the Bowdoin Women's Ice Hockey Team, led surf trips with the Outing Club, and worked in the Bowdoin Leadership Department. Her passion for language learning, combined with her passion for experiential education, has fueled her interest in cross-cultural pedagogy. While in Spain, she’s excited to build meaningful relationships both inside and outside the classroom, and spend lots of time surfing!
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Taiwan
Through studying abroad in Taipei in 2023, Owen fell in love with Taiwan and is excited to embed himself in the local community as an ETA. Owen is graduating as an Asian Studies and Environmental Studies double major with a minor in History; outside of the classroom, Owen engaged with the Bowdoin community as a sprinter on the Track & Field team, a learning assistant for Mandarin Chinese, and a member of Howell House. Over the next year, Owen is excited to dive into cross-cultural exchange by immersing himself in Eastern Taiwan’s culture and investing in his students.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Taiwan
After graduating from Bowdoin with a degree in Computer Science, Sebastian will serve as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Changhua, Taiwan. Sebastian is a second-generation Chinese immigrant and previously worked in an English classroom while studying abroad in Kyoto, Japan. He's excited to continue promoting cultural exchange between the U.S. and East Asia, become more fluent in Mandarin, and learn about Taiwan's world-class transportation systems. In the future, Sebastian hopes to pursue a career that combines his passions for transportation, analytical thinking, and working with diverse groups of people.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Spain
After graduating from Bowdoin with a double major in History and Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies, Arlenys Soler will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in the Canary Islands, Spain. At Bowdoin, she was a Program Coordinator at the McKeen Center, a proctor in Residential Life, and actively involved in community engagement. Arlenys looks forward to fostering cross-cultural exchange and supporting students through language learning. Outside the classroom, she is excited to read and write poetry, dance, and connect with others through creative expression. She hopes this experience will also strengthen the skills she plans to carry into a future career as a lawyer.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, South Korea
After graduating from Bowdoin with English and History majors, Jiahn will serve as an ETA in South Korea. At Bowdoin, she worked as a writing assistant, senior admissions interviewer, and Equity & Inclusion program coordinator for the McKeen Center. She also served as a Maine Community Fellow at Preble Street. These experiences have made her passionate about fostering empathy and inclusion across communities and cultures, and she hopes to continue to do so in Korea. Upon returning to the US, she plans to pursue a career in public policy and service.
Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships, Morocco
Shea graduated in 2024 with a major in Francophone studies and a minor in Africana studies. She spent the last year in Lyon, France teaching English in elementary schools through the Teaching Assistant Program in France. During her time at Bowdoin, she volunteered with Multilingual Mainers and was a member of the softball team. She is excited to teach in a multilingual community at the university level in Morocco. Upon her return to the United States, she plans to use her experience as an English Teaching Assistant to connect with New Mainers through education or medicine.
Fulbright Grants for Study/Research, Poland
After graduating from Bowdoin as an Earth and oceanographic science major and a chemistry minor, Gabe will contribute to geochronology research at AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, Poland. Gabe is excited to apply his experience in Bowdoin's Harrigan lab to research the geologic history of the Köli Nappe Complex, and eventually pursue a career in Earth history research. At Bowdoin, Gabe was a co-president of Hillel and co-captain of the club basketball team. In Poland he plans to become involved with the Kraków JCC, volunteer at youth basketball camps, and learn more about Poland's geology via hiking.
Fulbright Grants for Study/Research, Denmark and Greenland
Emma will spend a semester at Aarhus University in Denmark and a semester in Nuuk, Greenland as part of a Combined Arctic Semester study/research Fulbright, awarded to one American student. As an Environmental Studies and Government coordinate major and Biology minor, Emma has pursued research on Kent Island and in Québec fjord ecosystems, as well as collected oral histories of Maine fishermen. She also served as the Co-Station Manager for Bowdoin's radio station, WBOR, as well as a Resident Assistant. She plans to continue her education in a polar studies master's program with the goal of facilitating co-production of Arctic knowledge with indigenous communities through inclusive research.
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
Divya is a biochemistry major and physics minor. At Bowdoin, she performs research in the Dube lab investigating the role of bacterial sugars in adhesion with the goal of developing novel antibiotics. She hopes to pursue a career as a physician-scientist and was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship for her promise in this area. She plans to complete a senior thesis in the Dube Lab and hopes to attend medical school or an MD-PhD program after graduating.
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
Anna is a Physics major and a Mathematics minor at Bowdoin College. Since attending Bowdoin, she has conducted observational helio-physics research at the CfA at Harvard | Smithsonian. More recently, she is working with Professor T.W. Baumgarte conducting research in relativistic astrophysics. Specifically, using computational techniques that build models of compact stellar objects such as neutron stars and white dwarfs to study scenarios involving strong gravitational fields. After graduation, she plans to pursue a PhD in numerical astrophysics.
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
Graham is a math major and biology minor at Bowdoin. Graham is undertaking research with Amy Johnson and Olaf Ellers to understand the development of the oscillatory gait in sea stars, a novel faster method of locomotion that the lab previously discovered. Last summer, Graham worked on Kent Island studying the morphology of the intertidal rockweed Ascophyllum nodosum with Patty Jones and Liam Taylor. Outside of his academics and research, Graham is involved in the Board Games Club, Quiz Bowl, and the Bowdoin Concert Band.
Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme
Graduating from Bowdoin with majors in Earth and Oceanographic Science and Asian Studies, next year Samuel will serve as a teacher in Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. Samuel's experiences as a trail crew leader, learning assistant at Bowdoin, and nordic coach created his passion for teaching. He is excited to continue to develop his Japanese, and share his love for swing dance, geology, and climbing in Japan. Following his time there, Samuel is looking forward to a career in education, international relations, or law.
Keasbey Scholarship
As a recipient of the Keasbey Scholarship, Maya will pursue a fully-funded MPhil in English Studies at the University of Cambridge. There, she plans to research contemporary retellings of European fairy tales, paying close attention to issues of gender, race, and colonialism. At Bowdoin, Maya was an English major and dance minor; her senior thesis explored the olfactory sense in contemporary Asian diaspora literature. Outside of the classroom, Maya co-led VAGUE, Bowdoin's contemporary dance group, and volunteered as a literacy tutor at a local elementary school. Ultimately, Maya hopes to become a professor of English literature so she can continue studying stories forever.
National Science Foundation - Graduate Research Fellowship
Zoë graduated from Bowdoin in 2021 with majors in Earth and Oceanographic Science and Biochemistry. She is interested in biogeochemistry, or how microbes cycle elements within the earth system. After leaving Bowdoin, she completed a Master of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, funded by a Churchill Scholarship. Now, she works at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, developing new tools to measure greenhouse gas emissions from freshwater. This Fall, she will start a PhD at Duke University, where she plans to expand her newfound interest in engineering with climate science.
National Science Foundation - Graduate Research Fellowship
Katie graduated in 2021 with a Biology major (concentration in Ecology, Evolution, & Marine Biology). During her time at Bowdoin, she ran the Naturalists Club, led trips for the Outing Club, participated in the Marine Science Semester, and completed a summer research fellowship on Kent Island. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Illinois where she studies the movement, habitat use, and migration of songbirds in collaboration with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Her current research focuses on tracking Kirtland's Warblers to understand their stopover ecology and decision-making as they migrate between Michigan and The Bahamas.
National Science Foundation - Graduate Research Fellowship
Adriana graduated Bowdoin in 2021 with a double major in Government & Legal Studies and Asian Studies. While at Bowdoin, her participation in the Bowdoin Public Service (BPS) initiative inspired her to pursue a career in the foreign service. After graduating, Adriana served as an ALT on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program, where she contemporaneously served as the 2024 AJET National Chair. As a Thomas R. Pickering fellow, Adriana will now pursue a graduate degree in Law and Diplomacy at The Fletcher School. Upon graduation, she will join the U.S. Department of State as a diplomat. Her interests include nuclear nonproliferation and East Asian politics.
Princeton in Asia, Japan
Graduating Bowdoin as a Neuroscience major and a Sociology minor, Runa will work at Niizawa Sake Brewery in Kawasaki, Japan, where she will rotate through all stages of sake production and support their international outreach. At Bowdoin, she was a leader on the women’s rugby team, co-president of the Japanese Student Association, a Japanese Learning Assistant, and a game management worker for the Athletics Department. Runa looks forward to reconnecting with her Japanese heritage and fostering cross-cultural exchange between Japan and the U.S. Following her fellowship, she plans to pursue a career in sports medicine grounded in intercultural collaboration.
Princeton in Latin America, Dominican Republic
A Romance Languages and Literatures major and Theater minor with a dedication to intercultural communication, Eleanor has put her multilingualism to use through tutoring with Multilingual Mainers and pursuing a year-long theatrical translation project. In addition to acting and directing, Eleanor seeks to make theater an inclusive experience, serving as the Outreach Coordinator for Masque and Gown. As a PiLA fellow, Eleanor will work in partnership with the Mariposa Foundation’s performing arts programs to encourage girls to find their voice and take up space. She is excited to learn more about Dominican culture and build community over the next year.
Princeton in Latin America, Dominican Republic
After graduating from Bowdoin with a degree in Environmental Studies and Hispanic Studies, Kaitlyn will be working as an Environmental Educator at Fundación Mariposa, an all-girls learning center in the Dominican Republic, as part of the Princeton in Latin America fellowship program. She will assist in teaching students about environmental topics through a series of outdoor experiential learning experiences. She is excited be a part of educating the next-generation of environmentally-focused female leaders as well as meaningfully supporting the local community.
Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship
Khalil studied Computer Science and Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin. There, he served two terms as Class President, pursued humanitarian work in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, and led a public service immersion trip to Washington, DC. Khalil also studied abroad in Morocco and Denmark and volunteered in Peru as a Global Citizens Fellow. He is a Pamela Harriman Foreign Service Fellow and an alum of the U.S. Foreign Service Internship Program. As a Rangel Fellow, Khalil will now pursue a Master of International Affairs at Columbia University. Upon graduation, he aspires to become a U.S. diplomat.
Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
Brian majored in Computer Science and Mathematics at Bowdoin. His personal experience with hearing loss and passion for using music as a medium for self-expression and community building will guide his Watson year, focusing on how music amplifies voices and connects communities, as well as the dynamic interplay between musical tradition and technological innovation. Brian is eager to explore global perspectives on technology, music, and broader human themes such as cooperation. Beyond academics, he enjoys nature, biking, cooking, and reading, and he looks forward to dedicating more time to these hobbies in the coming year.
Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
Sophia is a Biology and English major from Seattle with a longstanding interest in mental health and suicide prevention work. Her Watson year explores the social, cultural, and environmental factors that influence suicidality. Traveling to four continents, she will examine how community, stigma, religion, government policy, and health care shape our conception of bodily autonomy, death, and happiness. After her year abroad, she plans on pursuing a medical degree and working with patients in crisis. She is always planning her next adventure and in her free time enjoys hiking and backpacking, reading, running, and baking.