On Friday, June 12, students enrolled in the Study USA Washington, D.C. “Capital Connections” program had the opportunity to visit the United States Capitol, where they learned more about Congress and the architectural history of the Capitol Building on a special tour organized by Jacob Stoken ’22, policy aid to House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. After the tour, Stoken sat down with students in the leader’s office in the Capitol for an extended Q&A session, where he shared insights about getting started as a Congressional staffer and provided an inside perspective on how Congress operates day-to-day. After the Q&A, students traveled with Stoken to the Rayburn House Office Building for additional conversation.

Joel Shelton, faculty director for Study USA, Washington, D.C. and associate professor of political science and public policy, and Tom Kerr, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Policy, joined students at the Capitol.

“I am exceedingly grateful to alumni like Jacob for supporting the ‘Capital Connections’ program in its first year,” Shelton said. “I’ve known Jacob since he was a student in my Philosophy, Politics, and Economics capstone course, and it is especially meaningful to see him thriving in Washington and to experience how generously he is mentoring the next generation of Elon students.”

The visit to the Capitol is part of the innovative curriculum for “Capital Connections:

Power, People, and Place in Washington, D.C.,” is a place-based capstone seminar in the Elon Core Curriculum that integrates classroom learning and direct engagement with D.C.’s institutions, cultural sites, and neighborhoods. Now in the fourth week of the nine-week program, students are busy interning in public and private sector institutions across the D.C. metro area, engaging with alumni, and attending special events and programming around Juneteenth and the upcoming 250th Independence Day celebration. This weekend, students will attend the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s widely acclaimed production of Othello and will join a special tour of Klein Theatre led by Company Manager Morgan Engle ’22.

Students interested in this experience for summer 2027 may begin applying on Sept. 1. For more information about the program, contact Anna Smith, director of Study USA.

Thirteen students are taking part in the inaugural Elon faculty-led program. Alumni networking is an important component of this cohort experience. In addition to meeting alumni, students take a core seminar course called Capital Connections: Power, People, and Place in Washington, D.C. taught by Joel Shelton, associate professor of political science and public policy.

Students also live in an apartment complex in the vibrant NoMa neighborhood, complete an internship, and participate in enrichment activities to get to know the city better. Students will tour the US Capitol, learn the history of the city through walking tours, attend a Nationals game, see a play at the Shakespeare Theatre Company and more.

“It is always special to connect with former students and to see them thriving in the lives they lead after graduation, but it’s especially meaningful that our alumni take the time to connect with and to mentor current students,” Shelton said. “This is especially important in Washington, D.C., where relationships make all the difference in an increasingly competitive internship and employment environment. I’m very grateful to our alumni for the enthusiasm with which they have supported the launch of Elon’s “Capital Connections” program in the district.

D.C. Alumni Chapter President Gabby Vance ’18, organized the event with fellow chapter members.

“The Pizza Party remains one of my favorite events organized by the D.C. chapter because it brings together two important parts of the Elon community,” Vance said. “Alumni have the opportunity to share their experiences and insights about life after graduation, while students gain a first-hand look at what it’s like to live and work in Washington, D.C., while building valuable professional connections. It’s always rewarding to see these relationships take shape, and I look forward to continuing this tradition for many years to come.”

Molly Bauer ’19, a former Communications Fellow, spent the fall of her junior year studying in D.C.

“It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” said Bauer, who moved to D.C. when she graduated and says she has experienced how strong the alumni network is in the city, and has enjoyed maintaining relationships with her peers.

“Now that Elon has its own program in D.C., I’m excited to stay even more connected to Elon by fostering connections with current students, faculty and staff as well,” Bauer said. “The Study USA program in D.C. will make our already-strong Elon network in D.C. even stronger. At the event, it was great getting to chat with current students, something I haven’t done since I graduated, and it was awesome reconnecting with faculty and staff after several years!”

Are you an alumnus living in D.C.? Join us for the next student/alumni networking night on

Applications for the Study USA D.C. summer 2027 program open Sept. 1. Contact the director of Study USA, Anna Smith asmith273@elon.edu, if you’d like to learn more.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Laing will spend a month in South Korea where she’ll visit 14 higher education institutions throughout the country to learn about the current trends in South Korean higher education and how these institutions view campus-wide internationalization, and also to learn more about international student mobility for students from (and to) South Korea. Friedland will spend his time as a Fulbright Scholar in Budapest, Hungary, where he will be teaching about the information economy, social media, and privacy and writing a book on comparative media law.

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are accomplished faculty, researchers, administrators and established professionals who teach or conduct research in partnership with institutions around the world. Through these affiliations, they expand their professional networks and often seed future research, innovation and institutional partnerships. When they return home to their campuses, labs, and classrooms, Fulbright Scholars share their experiences and insights, becoming champions of international collaboration. Many go on to host visiting scholars and inspire colleagues and students to pursue transformative opportunities abroad.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 as a bold investment in global peace and American prosperity through educational and cultural exchange. Fulbright provides opportunities for exceptional Americans and participants from 160 countries and locations to study, teach and conduct research abroad. For eight decades, Fulbrighters have been leaders at the forefront of discovery and innovation, conducting cutting edge research, advancing critical industries, and preparing future generations with new skills and perspectives.

In the United States, the Institute of International Education implements the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit . Learn more about .

Related Articles

• Strategic multifaith engagement shapes the Elon campus experience
• Elon students and faculty extend multifaith engagement to the community

One of the central goals of Elon’s Multifaith Strategic Plan is to “support opportunities for multifaith learning and engagement for all members of the Elon academic community,” including through academic opportunities. While many students at Elon may take a single course during their time at Elon that focuses on the study of religion or spirituality, a select group of students specializes in academic multifaith learning: religious studies majors.

Last month, 11 students graduated from Elon with degrees in religious studies, the largest number of Religious Studies majors graduating in a single year since 2012.

“The number of majors in our department has grown substantially over the last several years,” said Geoffrey Claussen, professor of religious studies and chair of the Department of Religious Studies. “Students seldom come to Elon planning to major in religious studies, but students often take courses during their first year that whet their appetite for further learning. They are able to recognize how the critical study of religion helps them to understand the world, and they appreciate the mentorship and community that our department offers.”

Religion is anything

The course that hooked Tracey McCarty ’26 on religious studies was “Religion and American Popular Culture,” taught by Andrew Monteith, and explores how religion can be found in many unexpected places in popular culture and imagined in radically different ways.

“I was taught a very specific concept: religion is anything,” McCarty said. “This was a game-changer for me. To understand religion not as a cohesive and strict definition, but as this conceptual ball that can be shaped in any way. Seeing religion as not an institution, but as a thing that a single person can define for themselves, was beautiful.”

One of the goals of Elon’s Multifaith Strategic Plan is to develop courses that “support student learning about diverse religious, spiritual, and secular traditions and identities.” In the Religious Studies department, these include “traditions” courses that explore how sets of traditions often viewed as static religions are characterized by significant diversity and can be depicted in very different ways.

Tess Trayner ’26 explored the diversity of Buddhisms in “Buddhist Traditions,” taught by Pamela Winfield.

“We traced Buddhism from its founding more than 2,000 years ago through its development across Asia and into the West, and Dr. Winfield refused to let us treat any of it as exotic or static,” Trayner said. “The unit on Orientalism and Buddhism in America helped me better understand the decontextualizing nature of mindfulness apps, yoga studios, and how to approach the version of Buddhism most familiar to American audiences. Learning to see Engaged Buddhism as both an authentic tradition and a phenomenon shaped by Western projection gave me tools I now reach for constantly – tools for noticing whose version of a tradition gets centered, and why.”

Another Traditions course, “Jewish Traditions,” taught by Claussen, featured opportunities to role-play debates about how Jewish tradition should be understood. In this class, Trayner had the opportunity to step into the shoes of thinkers with whom they sympathized and others whose views they found reprehensible.

“I discovered that wrestling with viewpoints I disagree with sharpens both my disagreement and my empathy,” Trayner said. “It is one thing to read a Jewish thinker. It is another to inhabit them long enough to understand how their historical moment shaped what they could imagine.”

Multifaith at home and abroad

Elon’s Multifaith Strategic Plan also commits the university to developing “pathways for experiential and engaged multifaith learning,” including through study abroad courses that “support engagement with global religious communities.”

Trayner had a significant learning experience taking “India’s Identities,” a course taught in South India by Amy Allocco and Brian Pennington. The course “deconstructed what I thought I knew about Hinduism, and rebuilt it with a critical emphasis on vernacular practice and the lived religion of regular, everyday people. As such, the class refused the traditional classroom format. Instead, Dr. Allocco’s deep roots of connection in Chennai meant we sat in living rooms with the most incredible people.”

Students have also been equipped by their Religious Studies coursework to engage with communities closer to home. Alyssa Carney ’26, for example, volunteered at the Burlington Masjid, teaching English to newcomers. Experiences of working with displaced people led her to propose a new unit for her “Engaging Islam” course, taught by Ariela Marcus-Sells.

What makes this course unique is its ‘build your own path’ structure, which allows students to shape the direction of their learning based on their interests and experiences, Carney said.

“For me, it created an opportunity to connect my volunteer work with my academic inquiry. As I was working closely with migrant communities, I became particularly interested in the topic of displacement within Islam. This led me to propose a unit based on a textbook chapter, ‘Refugee Horizons,’ which focuses on the experiences of Muslims in Myanmar, particularly the Rohingya,” Carney said “Through this unit, I explored how the Rohingya negotiate their Islamic identity in the face of systemic violence and ethnic cleansing, deepening both my academic understanding and my connection to the people I work with at the masjid.”

Advancing Equity

The Multifaith Strategic Plan also directs Elon to “explore new modes for student learning about religion and race, especially in connection with the Advancing Equity requirement.” The Religious Studies Department offers multiple courses each semester that meet that requirement.

This spring, Trayner took an Advancing Equity course titled “Religion, Race and Resistance,” taught by Sheila Otieno. Through courses such as this, Trayner said, “the department has prepared me to take real questions into the world. Dr. Otieno’s course gave me a framework for connecting religious and racial construction to the systems that shape American life, and how I can become a more intentional and thoughtful participant in America’s futurity.”

McCarty shares that their understanding of race and religion were shaped by studying Judith Weisenfeld’s “Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery’s Wake” in the religious studies senior seminar, taught by Marcus-Sells, exploring “how racism in America not only shaped psychiatry but also how Black religion is viewed. This perspective of religion as a political force in the world made me more knowledgeable about how the current society we’re in was created.”

McCarty found that the department provided an inclusive space for exploring interesting and challenging questions.

“The department has always been welcoming to anyone who has joined,” McCarty said. “I’ve been able to form great connections with those in the department, and they’ve been incredibly open to accepting diverse worldviews.”

Carney connected her experience as a religious studies major with the larger institutional objectives found in the Multifaith Strategic Plan.

“The Religious Studies Department at 51±ŹÁÏÍű actively advances the goals of the multifaith strategic plan. It does so not through a single initiative, but through an ecosystem of mentorship, community engagement, creative coursework and genuine care,” said Carney.

Trayner emphasized the importance of Religious Studies in the current political climate.

“Thanks to this department, I’ll leave Elon with a degree in religious studies and a much harder-won inheritance: the habit of holding complexity, the conviction that ordinary people are experts on their own lives, and the trust that careful, plural study of religion is exactly the kind of preparation this fractured moment is asking of us,” said Trayner.

This story is the fourth and final in a series of stories focusing on 51±ŹÁÏÍű’s Multifaith Strategic Plan.

This year’s students will spend the summer interning in fields ranging from media production to public policy, environmental research, business innovation and community development. At the heart of this experience is the opportunity to gain real-world experience while exploring the cultural and professional landscapes of their host cities, while earning academic credit through coursework.

Charlotte: Exploring sports, marketing, business and beyond 

As students arrived in the South End of Charlotte, they were welcomed by Director of Elon Charlotte Karen Neff and Program Assistant Emma Hash. This summer marks an especially exciting chapter for the Queen City site, as it hosts Study USA students while also launching the inaugural Summer Business Institute (SBI).

The new 10‑week SBI offers Elon students the opportunity to earn a Business Administration minor in a single summer through an immersive blend of coursework, professional development, and experiential learning.

Study USA students will pair their internships with a dynamic geography course taught by Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies Ryan Kirk. Through fieldwork and urban exploration, students will examine Charlotte’s growth, infrastructure, and identity, gaining a deeper understanding of how the city became the economic and cultural hub it is today.

SBI students will balance four business courses with job‑shadowing experiences designed to connect classroom learning with real-world applications. Together, all students across both programs will take part in excursions that highlight Charlotte’s innovation, history and community.

Move‑in day set the tone for an engaging summer ahead, featuring a welcome mixer hosted by Foster Flats, orientation sessions, a city‑wide scavenger hunt, and a hands-on cooking class that brought students together.

Los Angeles: Launching creative careers in the entertainment capital

Arriving in the heart of the entertainment industry, students were warmly welcomed by Director of Elon Los Angeles Brad Lemack as they settled into their housing just minutes from major studios and production hubs.

Students spend the summer interning with film production companies, talent agencies, digital media firms and theatre companies. Alongside their internships, students take a Core Capstone course taught by Cinema and Television Arts Professor Doug Kass, examining how visionaries and innovators have transformed Los Angeles, and how the cycle of invention and reinvention continues to shape the city’s commerce, creativity and cultural diversity.

Move in buzzed with excitement as students met their roommates, explored their neighborhood, and prepared for their first week of classes and internship onboarding. The following day included an orientation session at The Preserve, where students will have class each week, followed by an afternoon exploring The Getty, the Grove and L.A.’s Farmers Market.

New York City: Immersed in media, business and cultural innovation 

Political Science and Public Policy Professor Safia Swimelar and Program Assistant Hailey Duartes welcomed the students to Williamsburg, a student-friendly neighborhood in the heart of Brooklyn.

Students will intern across sectors, including journalism, public relations, marketing, media production and more. The Core Capstone course, taught by Professor Swimelar, complements these experiences. In the course description, Swimelar notes, “to call New York City a microcosm of the global community is not exaggeration
 This course uses New York City as a microcosm to model and understand the diversity and complexity of global humanity.” Students will explore the diversity of values that New Yorkers hold and examine important social, political, and religious issues at play throughout the city.

Students spent their first day navigating their new neighborhood, settling into their apartments, and exploring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Washington, D.C.: Engaging with policy, advocacy and public service 

Students were welcomed into the nation’s capital by Professor Joel Shelton, Program Assistant Abby Wright, and Ashley Pinney, Director of National Campus. Students will spend the summer living in the heart of NoMa and interning with congressional offices, federal agencies, law firms, advocacy groups, and more.

The coursework, the inaugural Capital Connections: Power, People and Place in Washington, D.C. spearheaded by Joel Shelton, associate professor of political science and public policy, “explores ‘the District’ as a place where politics and policy meet culture, economy and community.” Through engaging walking tours, museum visits, and cultural experiences, students will gain a firsthand look at the decision-making processes that shape the intersection of power, culture, economy, and identity in the nation’s capital.

Move-in included orientation sessions, community building activities, and preparation for the fast-paced professional environments they’ll soon enter.

“What’s something neat that happened to you today?” asked Lauren Feeley G’26. She was reflecting on a common conversation starter she had with fellow colleagues participating in the London Experience for Elon employees during the 2026 Winter Term. “And how much did we get rained on?!”

Feeley is a program assistant for student involvement and one of 22 participants in the most recent London Experience, a weeklong visit to England from Jan. 10-17, designed to give Elon employees who have limited international travel experience an opportunity for global engagement. Feeley said that the dreary January weather in London did not detract from a remarkable city with colleagues she now calls friends.

“This kind of experience shines a real big spotlight for every single person on the importance of being connected to other people on campus,” said Senior Vice President for Advancement and External Affairs Jim Piatt, who facilitated the program for 2026.

He added that the London Experience is a distinctive feature to working at Elon — an opportunity to support students as global citizens by offering employees a similar experience.

Jackie Allred ’94 serves as an administrative assistant for student life and was among those who traveled to London in January.

“From sun up to sun down, we never stopped,” she said. “If there was something we could be doing, we were doing it.”

Allred said she felt like she shared these experiences with good friends rather than colleagues, a connection reflected in moments like sitting in the choir loft during mass at St. Paul’s Cathedral with a small group from Elon.

Allred and Feeley both shared the importance of “having friendly faces to names” across campus and the ability to pick up the phone when their work aligns. They also both have a deepened appreciation for students when they have international experiences — from the enrichment of global and cultural engagement to things like jet lag and fatigue from a long trip in a different time zone.

“The experience has broadened and strengthened my networks here at Elon,” added Allred.

The group saw much of London and also ventured out to Cambridge. Employees saw staples like the Tower of London, the London Bridge, Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. They were given access to the war room made famous by Winston Churchill, visited the Hampton Court Palace and participated in guided tours across the city.

Dexter Chambers, a floor tech for the university, said he wouldn’t have had the same experience in London if he had traveled there on his own.

“The guide, the itinerary, everything was impressive, and that was a joy,” he said. Chambers made the most of the sites and foods that England offers and saw much of the city by foot with a small group of others, including one day that he estimates he ran four miles.

Chambers recalls calling his son and a number of his friends during his runs to share his excitement and disbelief of the places in London he was visiting. Now back at Elon, he continues this excitement when he sees participants on campus, who, he says he loves to wave to and reminisce on the shared
experience.

Feeley is finishing her Master of Arts in Higher Education degree from Elon this spring and joined the London Experience, in part, to satisfy her international study away experience.

“Because such a large population of our students here at Elon have some sort of study away experience, it’s really meaningful for me to have my own,” she said. “Elon places such an emphasis on students being global citizens that it’s important that faculty and staff model that as well.”

Jenny Gonzalez, Elon’s assistant director of interior design, said the program underscores Elon’s commitment to global education for the entire campus community, not only for students. “One of the best parts is getting to know people from across campus and build connections,” Gonzalez said.

The application for the 2027 experience will open soon and be advertised through email. “If you’re considering applying for this experience, do not hesitate, just apply and be open to the experience,” Allred said. “Do everything you possibly can during the experience.”

The program is offered to Elon employees for a fee of $350, which includes passport, airfare, lodging, certain ground transportation, admission to various attractions and occasional group meals. Previous participants have generally incurred additional expenses for souvenirs, personal meals, and a tube pass as it suited them.

Sixty-eight percent of American adults say they are proud to be American, and 79% agree the United States plays a uniquely important role in world history. At the same time, 69% believe the signers of the Declaration of Independence would feel more disappointment than pride about modern American democracy.

The survey of 1,000 adults in the United States, conducted April 30-May 4, 2026, explores how Americans view the nation’s past, present and future as the country prepares to commemorate its semiquincentennial.

“As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Americans have complex and diverse feelings about America 250,” said Jason Husser, director of the 51±ŹÁÏÍű Poll and a professor of political science and public policy. “We found several points of optimism among Americans, including pride in being American and belief that the United States has a uniquely important role to play in world history. At the same time, many Americans expressed significant concern about the health of American democracy today, and the country is split on its outlook over the next 50 years.”

More than half of Americans (52%) say the United States is unsuccessfully living up to its founding ideals, while only 30% say the nation is successfully living up to them. Nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) rate the overall health of U.S. democracy as only “fair” or “poor.”

The survey also found widespread concern about political instability and civic division:

• 68% believe elected officials today are worse than leaders of the past
• 80% say they at least sometimes feel no political party or movement represents their views
• 70% say the country is more turbulent than average compared with other periods in U.S. history
• 64% say they have little or no confidence that U.S. political institutions will make mostly good decisions over the next 50 years
• 68% predict America will become more politically divided by 2076

Americans are also pessimistic about the country’s long-term future in several key areas. Majorities predict that by 2076 the nation will have less freedom, less economic equality, a lower standard of living, and more pollution. More Americans also believe technology will create more harm than benefit over the next 50 years.

Despite those concerns, the poll found Americans still hold strong connections to the nation’s democratic ideals and history.

When asked which event best represented American democracy at its highest ideals, respondents most frequently selected the Civil Rights Movement and World War II. Abraham Lincoln was named both the historical figure who best exemplified democratic ideals and the greatest president in U.S. history.

The survey also revealed broad bipartisan resonance for many historic presidential messages when respondents were not told who made the statements. More than three-quarters agreed with quotations from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, while large majorities also agreed with statements from John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Looking toward the nation’s semiquincentennial celebrations, Americans expressed greater interest in reflection than pageantry. Nearly seven in 10 (68%) said America250 should focus more on reflecting on U.S. history and values than simply celebrating national achievements, and 71% said smaller local events would feel more authentic than large national celebrations.

The survey found Americans entering the anniversary with mixed emotions. The most common feeling was pride, cited by 38%, followed by gratitude at 17%. But 21% said they have no strong feelings, 12% described themselves as conflicted, while others reported disappointment or frustration.

The margin of error for the 51±ŹÁÏÍű Poll survey is +/- 3.95%.

Poll Methodology

Access the poll topline and methodology at: www.elon.edu/elonpoll. The survey was developed by the 51±ŹÁÏÍű Poll and fielded by the international marketing and polling firm YouGov as an online, web-based survey, self-administered with online panels. Between April 30 and March 4, 2026, YouGov interviewed 1,077 U.S. adults aged 18 and older. These respondents were then matched down to a sample of 1,000 to produce the final dataset.

The matched cases were weighted to the sampling frame using propensity scores based on age, gender, race/ethnicity, years of education, and home ownership. The margin of error for this poll (adjusted for weights) is +/-3.95%.

51±ŹÁÏÍű the 51±ŹÁÏÍű Poll

Established in 2000, the 51±ŹÁÏÍű Poll conducts national and North Carolina surveys on issues of importance to voters and residents. Information from these polls is shared with media, citizens and public officials to facilitate informed public policy making through the better understanding of citizens’ opinions and attitudes. The poll is fully funded by 51±ŹÁÏÍű and operates as the neutral, non-biased information resource.

The 51±ŹÁÏÍű Poll is a charter member of in 2014 to educate polling firms on ways to better share how they collect and interpret their information. The Elon Poll’s voluntary participation in this initiative signifies a willingness to clearly state in its reports how questions were asked, in what order, who funded the poll and then conducted it, and a definition of the population under study, among other details.

Performers can either do karaoke, sing an original song, or lip sync — the one stipulation is that it must be in a language other than English. This year, there were 14 performances with songs in 10 different languages: French, Spanish, German, Arabic, Italian, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, and Old French/Latin.

Global Vision was inspired by the Euro Vision Song Contest, which has been hosted since 1956. However, the event at Elon is for languages across the globe, not only languages spoken in Europe.

Elon’s performers were rated in the categories singing, language skills, and performance by Sandy Marshall (Global Neighborhood), Bethanny Sudibyo (World Languages and Cultures), Trudy Arling (Polygot LLC RA), and Joel Thomas (Campus Safety and Police).

There were three prize baskets for the winners filled with international candies, snacks and drinks. In addition to the sweet treats, the first-place winners also went home with a trophy!

Congratulations to this year’s winners:

• 1st place – Vee Brown performed in Italian
• 2nd place – Emma Arruda performed in French
• 3rd place – Tamar Kalisher performed in French/Latin

Elon’s sixth Global Vision Song Contest is scheduled for Spring 2027.

“I always thought, ‘This is home,’ and right now I’m leaving, and think, ‘Am I leaving home?’ It’s the same feeling I had when I left home (Afghanistan) years ago,” said Tahiry, a computer science major and the first recipient of the Commitment to Democracy Scholarship, dedicated to refugee students.

Tahiry was one of about 20 graduating international students, along with their families, who planted their oak sapling in the international student tree grove on May 21, an Elon tradition now celebrating 10 years. When new students arrive at Elon, they receive an acorn and, when they leave, they are gifted a sapling at Senior Baccalaureate. Because international students usually cannot take the sapling home, they have planted their trees in a grove by the Harden Clubhouse.

Denise Teeters, director of international student services, welcomed the students and reminded them of the symbolic nature of the sapling, representing their growth from a first-year student to a graduate.

“Over the last several years, you have grown academically and personally. You learned how to navigate differences, how to build friendships across cultures and languages, and how to speak with courage. Some of you didn’t speak much when you got here, and then, all of a sudden, you grew, you built that courage to speak and also embraced the Elon community,” said Teeters. “Through all this, you’ve seen how growth takes time, just like saplings take time to grow.”

Before students planted their saplings, President Connie Ledoux Book also noted how, just like an oak tree, Elon is also built on connection.

“It’s the root systems that are so critical,” Book said. “You have to have a grove. You need other oak trees for an oak tree to prosper. And that is true about the Elon network.”

Elon has been repeatedly recognized for the number of its alumni who participate in the Fulbright Program as teachers, graduate students, and researchers and has been named a top-producer of Fulbright students in six separate years. Students and alumni interested in the Fulbright Program or other nationally competitive fellowships are invited to contact the National and International Fellowships Office. The deadline to notify the office of your intent to apply for Fulbright in this upcoming cycle is June 1, 2026. Rising seniors are required to work with the National and International Fellowships Office to apply for Fulbright, and alumni are highly encouraged to do so.

Those who received awards this year are:

Azul Bellot ’26

Azul Bellot, a double major in psychology and sociolinguistics with a minor in TESOL, has received a Fulbright grant to teach English in Spain. She is The Elon Commitment scholar in the Odyssey Program and a student scholar with The Center for Engaged Learning.

Bellot has been preparing for an experience like Fulbright long before she arrived at Elon. Reflecting on her early years, she says, “Growing up as the daughter of Mexican immigrants, I was my family’s translator from a young age. I navigated formal systems, adult conversations, and bureaucratic spaces in both English and Spanish long before I had the language to describe what that experience was doing to me. It gave me a deep understanding of what it means for language to be a gateway, and what it costs when that gateway is closed.”

These formative years laid the groundwork for her time at Elon, where she developed her own independent sociolinguistics major, volunteered as an English tutor for children and adults, and conducted research on meaningful mentoring relationships. To Bellot, a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Spain is “the most honest intersection of everything [she’s] been working towards: language, identity, education, and community.”

After Fulbright, Bellot plans to pursue more international fellowships before returning to academia to earn her PhD in Applied Linguistics. Her Elon mentors include Archie Crowley, assistant professor of English; Nina Namaste, professor of Spanish; and Sylvia Muñoz, assistant dean of students and director for the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education.

Anya Bratić ’26

Anya Bratić, a double major in international & global Studies and public policy with a minor in public health, has received a Fulbright grant to teach English in Vietnam. She is an Elon College Fellow, a Periclean Scholar, and the Student Government Association Student Body President.

To Bratić, Fulbright represents the intersection of her two greatest passions: global engagement and teaching. She found ways to blend these passions during her time at Elon. As a Periclean Scholar, she had the opportunity to study abroad in India to understand what mutually beneficial relationships look like in practice, not just in theory. As a student consultant with the Center for Design Thinking, she developed a love for teaching and facilitation, specifically the challenge of guiding others through the structured process of finding meaningful solutions to “wicked” problems. Serving as an English teaching assistant will allow her to refine her intercultural and teaching skills while strengthening diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam.

After Fulbright, Bratić is interested in pursuing a career in diplomacy or global social impact. “Simply put, I want to work at the intersection of people, policy and purpose,” she says. Bratić’s constellation of Elon mentors includes Amanda Tapler, associate teaching professor of public health studies; Safia Swimelar, professor of political science and public policy; Sean McMahon, professor of entrepreneurship; and Danielle Lake, director of design thinking and associate professor of human service studies.

Molly Moylan ’26

Biochemistry major Molly Moylan has received a Fulbright grant to teach English in Spain.

At Elon, Moylan took every opportunity to foster and blend her passions for STEM research, teaching and service. As a researcher, Moylan worked with chemistry professor Dan Wright to study trace metals within medicinal herbs and spices. She refined her teaching skills by serving with America Reads, the Village Project, the CityGate Dream Center, and more. Most notably, Moylan found a way to combine her passions by co-founding Imagine Science, a program designed to address declining student engagement in science education by bringing hands-on experiments and activities to local after-school programs.

In Spain, Moylan will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Galicia, a region that is especially interested in promoting students’ scientific thinking skills. This Fulbright year will serve as crucial preparation for Moylan as she applies to medical school. The language and cultural skills she will gain in Spain will allow her to better serve Spanish-speaking patients in the future.

Moylan’s most influential Elon mentor has been Assistant Professor of Chemistry Dan Wright. “Dr. Dan Wright has been instrumental in my success at Elon,” she said. “Through his continued support, my confidence in both my personal and professional capacities has grown immensely, and I am extremely grateful to have had him as a mentor.”

Madison Powers ’25

Madison Powers, who graduated in 2025 with a degree in journalism and a minor in Spanish, has received a Fulbright grant to teach English in Spain. At Elon, Powers was a communications fellow and a 2023 Pulitzer reporting fellow. Since graduating, she has served as an editorial intern at Garden & Gun Magazine in Charleston, South Carolina.

Powers has long had her sights set on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Spain. During her undergraduate years, she spent a semester in Sevilla and fostered her dual passions for cross-cultural exchange and global education. Eager to return, she applied for Fulbright in last year’s application cycle and was named a semifinalist. She remained so committed to the value of a Fulbright experience that she chose to reapply this year, and her hard work and persistence paid off.

Powers will serve as an English teaching assistant in Madrid. She is excited to live and work in a large, diverse city while improving her Spanish language skills and forming connections with her community. Serving in Madrid will also allow her to work closely with students on Global Classrooms/Model UN projects, which are important to the development of their critical thinking and cross-cultural skills.

This Fulbright year will serve as a bridge between Powers’ current and future journalistic work. Upon returning to the U.S, she plans to work as a journalist reporting on and working in Spanish-speaking communities. Her Elon mentors include Kelly Furnas, associate teaching professor of journalism; Jan Register, administrative assistant for the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life; and Pablo Celis-Castillo, associate professor of Spanish.

Aryanna Vindas ’25

Aryanna Vindas, a graduate of the class of 2025, has received a Fulbright grant to teach English in South Korea. She graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography and a minor in Asian studies.

Serving as an English teaching assistant in South Korea is a natural extension of the work Vindas began at Elon. She completed a two-year undergraduate research project about Korean Buddhist mindfulness, studied abroad for a semester in South Korea, and undertook a rigorous course of Korean language study. Simultaneously, she developed her teaching skills by serving as a volunteer English teacher, tutoring Spanish, and leading and assisting dance classes.

Because her grant does not begin until January 2027, Vindas has chosen to go above and beyond to prepare. She will spend this summer in South Korea completing intensive language study at Yonsei University in Seoul, which will help her integrate more successfully into her future host community and build more meaningful relationships with her students.

After Fulbright, Vindas plans to enroll in graduate school to continue the research on Buddhist mindfulness she began at Elon. Vindas’ Elon mentors include Renay Aumiller, associate professor of dance; the “wonderful” dance staff; and Pamela Winfield, professor of religious studies and associate director of international & global studies.

In addition to these students, one senior has been named an alternate. Alternates are still in the competition and have the chance to be promoted to finalists (recipients of the grant) up until the official start of the grant period. We will update this story as we continue to hear news of their progress.

Rebecca Lovasco ’26

Rebecca Lovasco, a psychology major with minors in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and neuroscience, has been selected as an alternate for a Fulbright study/research grant in Taiwan to earn a master’s degree in Mind, Brain, and Consciousness at Taipei Medical University.

Lovasco is an Elon College Fellow who went on to win the Lumen Prize. Her research, which integrates cognitive neuroscience, clinical psychology, and philosophy of mind, explores how anxiety and depression affect reinforcement learning and conscious visual perception. Outside of her research, Lovasco is proud to have served as a law enforcement crisis counselor with the Campus Alamance program.

Lovasco’s Elon mentors include Kristina Krasich, assistant professor of psychology; William Schreiber, associate professor of psychology; Kim Epting, professor of psychology; Alexa Darby, professor of psychology; and Jill McSweeney, assistant director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and assistant professor of wellness.