Nine Carleton seniors awarded Fulbrights for 2026

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants scholarships to graduating seniors and recent alumni allowing them to research, study, or teach English abroad for one year. The program, which is the largest exchange program in the country, started in 1946 as a way to facilitate cultural exchange and remains a highly competitive program for applicants. Carleton is proud to have nine graduating seniors be awarded Fulbright Scholarships this year!

Students interested in applying in the future should contact Carleton’s Office of Student Fellowships for support and assistance.

Meet this year’s Fulbright grant recipients:

Hans Anderson ’26

Anderson is a chemistry major with a minor in Spanish from Watertown, Minnesota. He has been awarded a fellowship in Asturias, Spain, where he will be an English teaching assistant at an elementary or secondary school.

While at Carleton, Anderson was able to take part in the Madrid off-campus study program and wanted to return to learn more about Spain’s cultural depth and build relationships. Drawing on his experience coaching youth diving, leading art activities through volunteer work, and his professional experiences, Anderson seeks to contribute to his future host community through teaching.

After his year abroad ends, Anderson plans on attending an MD-PhD program to become a physician-scientist in pediatric oncology. In the meantime, he will enjoy the Picos de Europa mountains and the Cantabrian Sea. 

Ava Blaufuss ’26

Blaufuss is a sociology and anthropology (SOAN) and German double major from Mound, Minnesota. She will be teaching English in Niedersachsen, Germany.

Acquiring German experience from both her major and her Austrian off-campus study program, it made sense to Blaufuss to teach English in Germany.

After she completes her fellowship, Blaufuss intends on pursuing a PhD in anthropology. Being an Indigenous scholar, her goal is to bring more Indigenous voices to academia.

Peter Calabrese ’26

Calabrese is a chemistry major with minors in Spanish and music from Shoreview, Minnesota. Calabrese will spend the next year teaching English in Asturias, Spain.

Already having abroad experience in Madrid, as well as teaching skills from being a chemistry lab TA at Carleton, Calabrese wants to bring that experience to Asturias to not just teach, but also engage more with Spanish culture and learn from that community.

Once the program wraps up, Calabrese plans on attending medical school, hoping to use his cross-cultural experience as a way to break barriers.

Grace Enz ’26

Enz is a history major with minors in Africana studies and Arabic from Brookings, South Dakota. She is excited to spend the next year as an English teaching assistant at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Enz is passionate about education and the transformative power of language learning. For the past four years at Carleton, she has led educational activities and tutored students at Waano, a learning center that offers homework assistance to Somali students in Faribault. During her study abroad program in Morocco, Enz also organized a weekly English club at a nonprofit organization.

As a Fulbright ETA, she hopes to explore Marrakesh, improve her Darija and French skills, and create a positive classroom environment where students feel empowered to learn English.

Riley Gibson ’26

Gibson is a history and German double major from Boise, Idaho. Her fellowship will take her to Germany as an English teaching assistant for the next year.

Being a Carleton student, Gibson feels prepared for whatever the Fulbright program throws her way — including rigorous work, engagement, and thriving outside her comfort zone.

Gibson is looking forward to living abroad, working with students in fulfilling work, and exploring the beautiful parts of the region, as well as improving her German fluency.

Eliana Simon ’26

Simon is a history major with a minor in classics from Norman, Oklahoma. Simon will be the first Fulbright English teaching assistant at Gymnázium Bystřice nad Pernštejnem, a high school in Bystřice nad Pernštejnem, Czech Republic.

At Carleton, Simon has worked with the Office of Intercultural Life (OIL), completed an archeological study abroad program in Greece, and explored Czech history and literature. She looks to use that experience to refine her Czech language proficiency, work directly with students, and connect with her Czech family history.

Once she completes the program, she will begin a master’s degree program in Asian studies at Cornell University, bringing her teaching experience there. Long term, she plans on pursuing a PhD in South Asian history. For now, she’s excited to visit her family in the Czech Republic on long weekends, visit Czechia at the same age her father was when he visited, and live in the same region her grandmother was from.

Aimee Yuan ’26

Yuan is a mathematics major from Portland, Oregon. For the next year, Yuan will be an English teaching assistant in Taiwan and will run a community service project.

For Yuan, who wants to learn more about her Taiwanese heritage and is very interested in teaching, this program will be a meaningful opportunity. Yuan has experience with phonics instruction and literacy curricula through her volunteer work at Carleton, as well as experience in building classroom management and confidence through summer work, that she hopes to bring to her Fulbright. She is also very excited about the chance to eat Taiwanese food.

After completing the program, making new friends, immersing herself in Taiwanese traditions, and improving her teaching skills, she plans to enroll in a master’s in education to become a secondary mathematics teacher.

Another Carleton senior who wishes to remain anonymous will be an English teaching assistant in South Korea. They are especially looking forward to trying new foods and being immersed in a new culture, and feel honored to act as a global ambassador while teaching students English.

Rilke Grimlund ’26 was selected for the Austria Combined Fulbright award to complete chemistry research at the University of Innsbruck, but instead accepted the Paglia Post-Bac Research Fellowship.