14 ASU students awarded Fulbright scholarships for 2024–25 academic year

Recent Arizona State University graduate Benjamin Branaman is passionate about finding humanities-based solutions for improving the justice system.

While attending ASU, the data science major participated in the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program offered by the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and was a Watts Research Fellow with the Center for Correctional Solutions.

Now, he has the opportunity to continue that work as a Fulbright Student Scholar in Lillestrom, Norway, where he will study the country’s use of alternative criminal sentencing practices.

Branaman will work with faculty at the University College of the Norwegian Correctional Service — Norway’s university for training correctional staff — to interview people who are incarcerated through electronic monitoring and evaluate how the electronic monitoring method of criminal sentencing impacts long-term outcomes.

“I’m honored to have been selected for a Fulbright Award and see it as an exciting continuation to the work I began while completing my undergraduate degree at ASU,” said Branaman, who is interested in pursuing a graduate degree in criminology.

Branaman is one of 14 ASU students that have been selected to participate in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2024–25 academic year.

The Fulbright program annually awards more than 2,000 grants to support independent study or research, teaching, graduate study or artistic practice abroad. It was founded in 1946 to increase mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through the exchange of people, knowledge and skills. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, it is the largest and most prestigious educational exchange fellowship program in the world.

“I’m very proud of this cohort of ASU Fulbright students,” said Kyle Mox, associate dean for national scholarships and Fulbright program advisor for ASU. “Year to year, competition for Fulbright student awards increases, yet our students and alumni prove their determination.”

With the support of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, some recipients engage in independent research activities, directed study or artistic practice — while other recipients pursue graduate degrees abroad or serve as assistant teachers in English language classrooms.

“Celebrating these Fulbright students as they prepare to depart for their year abroad is a way of ‘closing the circle,’ so to speak, as we are also currently preparing our next cohort of applicants,” Mox said.

“I am also proud of the diversity of our Fulbright student cohort. They showcase the breadth of academic disciplines and lived experiences at ASU.” 

Rebecca Stuch, a doctoral student in the Innovation in Global Development program within ASU's College of Global Futures’ School for the Future of Innovation in Society, also received a Fulbright Award for research.

The award will support her doctoral dissertation research on national identity and digital storytelling in the Republic of Moldova.

“I am very honored and grateful for being selected for Fulbright,” Stuch said. “While it was a challenging experience to write my application, it really made me clarify what I wanted to do and provided me an opportunity to tell a story about myself and the connection to my research.”

Stuch said her future goals include leading development interventions that support self-reliance, sustainability and cross-cultural understanding, possibly in a role with the U.S. government or international nongovernmental organizations, and supporting digital storytelling platforms as a means for communities to share their experiences.

Austin Sowers, who received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from ASU last December, is the recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award that will take him to the National Pedagogical University Francisco Morazan, a private college located in southeastern Honduras, where he will teach conversational English and deliver lessons on American culture.

In addition, he will work with the U.S. Agency for International Development and National Foundation for Honduran Development, a nonprofit that provides at-risk youth opportunities to earn the Honduran equivalent of a general education diploma.

“Being selected for Fulbright was such a pivotal moment for me because I was able to prove to myself that I was capable of so much more than I ever thought,” said Sowers, who aspires to be a U.S. foreign service officer.

He said his Fulbright Award will allow him to draw on his past experience as a Marine deployed abroad, strengthen his Spanish language skills and “further develop my interpersonal skills as it relates to navigating complex issues from outside of my culture, developing the sensitivity to diverse ways of thinking that is crucial for fostering strong cross-cultural ties.”

The other student Fulbright recipients include:

Isabel Haas, who graduated ASU in May with bachelor’s degrees in global studies and applied mathematics with honors from Barrett, The Honors College, was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award. For the entirety of 2025, she will teach English in South Korea. Haas plans to use her Fulbright experience to gain a year of Korean language study and then apply for the U.S. State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship before pursuing a graduate degree in international relations.

Adelaide Randall graduated from ASU in May 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award in Bulgaria, where she will be placed at Aprilov National High School in Gabrovo to serve as an English fluency teacher and lead the speech and debate team.

Chandler Camarena, a member of the Arizona Air National Guard who completed a bachelor’s degree in computer science at ASU, will pursue a master’s degree in cybersecurity at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, Hungary. He previously received a Critical Language Scholarship and a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship to study Russian.

Cassidy Durland, a history major and graduate of Barrett Honors College who transferred to ASU after completing an associate degree at Mesa Community College, will serve as an English teaching assistant in Georgia. She also previously received the Critical Language Scholarship and a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship to study Russian.

Nia Hinkson, who completed a master’s degree in education policy at ASU in 2023, served as a Peace Corps volunteer to Uganda, and will return to serve as a Fulbright English teaching assistant. She will pursue a career in international development.

Djurdja Jovanovic Padejski, a doctoral student in comparative culture and language, will conduct linguistic analysis of Russian propaganda narratives in Czech media in collaboration with Professor Václav Cvrček at Charles University. She also previously received the Critical Language Scholarship and the Foreign Languages and Area Studies Fellowship.

Kendon Jung, a doctoral student in design, environment and the arts, is the manager of ASU’s Zero Waste initiative and will study how service designers advance sustainability outcomes in Cologne, Germany, with Birgit Mager at the Koln International School of Design. Jung also received his master’s degree at ASU and is a graduate of Barrett, The Honors College.

Morgan Sutherland, who completed her Doctor of Musical Arts at ASU in 2024, will be enrolled in the marimba apprenticeship program with Katarzyna Mycka at the Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdansk, Poland.

Erik Unsworth, who received a Bachelor of Science in accountancy from ASU in 2024, will serve as an English teaching assistant in Spain, where he will draw on his experience as an Eagle Scout, swim instructor and guitarist to engage with his students and community.

Eunice Villaseñor Iribe, a graduate student in anthropology, will study how the social and ecological conditions of the northern basin of Mexico have affected the resilience of terraced landscapes. She received her bachelor’s degree at ASU, where she participated in an NSF-funded research experience for undergraduates.