Kenyon College Graduates Awarded Seven Fulbright Fellowships
The new fellows — and a faculty member named a U.S. Fulbright Scholar — will travel across the globe for teaching and research as part of the prestigious program.
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GAMBIER, Ohio — The Fulbright U.S. Student Program has selected seven Kenyon graduates to participate in the government’s flagship international exchange program for the 2026-27 academic year.
In addition, one faculty member — Associate Professor of Chemistry Katie Mauck — will spend the coming year conducting research in France as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar.
The news continues the College’s string of success in producing Fulbright fellows. More than 70 Kenyon students in the past decade have accepted the fellowships, and the institution was recognized earlier this year for the number of applicants it had selected for the 2025-26 student scholar program. Kenyon has received this “top producer” designation 19 times in the past 21 years.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, provides funding for students and young professionals seeking graduate study, advanced research, and teaching opportunities worldwide. Recipients of the coveted fellowship receive grants to serve as English teaching assistants (ETAs) or conduct research abroad.
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers more than 380 awards in over 120 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research, and carry out professional projects around the world.
This year’s fellows from the College — all members of the Class of 2026 unless otherwise noted — are:
- Lucas Aho, a double major in religious studies and German from Boston. He received a grant to teach English in Saxony, Germany.
- Clara Beliavsky, an international studies major from New York City who has a minor in Spanish. She will teach English in Argentina.
- Victoria Mei-ling Kerrigan, Class of 2025, a double major in Spanish and English from Brooklyn, New York. She will teach English in Colombia.
- Nicholas Kloor, a double major in music and Japanese from Brooklyn, New York. He will teach English in Indonesia.
- Emma Rice, an English major from Alexandria, Virginia, who has a minor in Spanish and art history. She will teach English in Uruguay.
- Iris Santalucia, a philosophy major from Queens, New York. She will teach English in Thailand.
- Dylan Sibbitt, a political science major from San Francisco who has a minor in Japanese. He will conduct research in Indonesia.
Sibbitt, for example, was senior class president at Kenyon. He will be researching how youth in Indonesia are navigating the rise of artificial intelligence, social media and digital finance, and what those changes mean for education, economic opportunity and civic life.
“At Kenyon, my work often returned to questions about democracy, youth, technology and inequality. The Fulbright gives me the chance to keep asking those questions in a new context, while also learning from Indonesian students, scholars, and communities directly,” he said.
Rice, who obtained a teaching licensure certificate through a Kenyon partnership with Capital University, has helped tutor fellow college students as well as area Latino individuals. She looks forward to continuing her development as a writer and teacher in Uruguay.
Kloor, in addition to being a Fulbright fellow, is also a recipient of the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship. A member of various student bands and Kenyon’s Jazz Ensemble, he said he is excited to teach in Indonesia, whose music has influenced many of his musical inspirations.
Beliavsky, who previously studied abroad in Madrid and Buenos Aires, Argentina, looks forward to engaging with the global community again. “I hope to build on what I learned abroad about experiential, hands-on learning by creating opportunities for students to connect with the material in ways that extend beyond the classroom walls,” she said.
Santalucia, who served as co-president of a meditation club at Kenyon and acted in drama and film productions, aims to bring drama, the arts, and mindfulness techniques into the learning atmosphere as part of her Fulbright.
Kerrigan was co-founder and president of Multicultural Identities Organization at Kenyon while also serving as a Spanish language teaching assistant. She said her exposure to Colombian music and dance have helped her develop a curiosity about the country where she’ll be serving.
And Aho, whose campus activities included serving as a German tutor and Quiz Bowl vice president, said he also is looking forward to immersing himself in a new community and making a positive impact on his students.
As a Fulbright Scholar, Mauck — whose scholarly interests include physical chemistry and materials chemistry — will be learning new computational methods at the Institut des Sciences Moléculaires in Bordeaux and observing how quantum chemistry and computation are taught in France.
“I'll use this to grow my research program at Kenyon to offer additional access points for students to engage in research in my lab; and bring back ideas for enhancing our own computational chemistry curriculum,” she said.
View downloadable images of Lucas Aho, Clara Beliavsky, Victoria Mei-ling Kerrigan, Nicholas Kloor, Emma Rice, Iris Santalucia, Dylan Sibbitt, Katie Mauck and Kenyon College.
About Kenyon College: Founded in 1824, Kenyon College is the oldest private college in Ohio and the first institution in the U.S. to implement the model of faculty members serving as academic advisors. With a curriculum rooted in the liberal arts, Kenyon students and faculty aspire to a nuanced understanding of the world and all who inhabit it. Kenyon is a top producer of Fulbright Fellows and ranks second among Division III institutions for fostering NCAA Postgraduate Scholars. Home to the Kenyon Review, one of the nation’s most esteemed literary magazines, Kenyon celebrates a rich literary tradition that promotes writing across academic disciplines.
Contact:
Yvonne Johnson
Director of Public Relations and Campus Communications
johnson16@kenyon.edu
740-427-5158
Kenyon College
-
Yvonne Johnson Director of Public Relations and Campus Communications, Kenyon College
- July 07, 2026
- 740-427-5158
- Send Email
