Molly Conway, Aimee Herring, Ashley Labrie, Muskaan Makkar and Jensen Smith have earned 2025 – 2026 Fulbright U.S. Student Program fellowships to spend approximately a year in Chile, Lithuania, Brazil, France and Spain, respectively. As the State Department’s flagship international education and cultural exchange initiative, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program aims to connect students, teachers and scholars from around the world.
Why it matters
Fulbright grants are available for students and alumni who wish to conduct research, study at the graduate level, pursue creative arts projects or teach English internationally. Grantees spend about a year in their host countries and engage with local communities. These interpersonal interactions build international relationships that can last a lifetime — and help to increase cultural awareness in the U.S. and abroad. USC’s Fulbrighters have gone on to have careers in the Foreign Service, to pursue international STEM research projects, to found the Kurt Vonnegut Museum in Indianapolis and more.
Who they are
Molly Conway is a 2025 South Carolina Honors College graduate and McNair scholar. She earned a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and will pursue a Fulbright research fellowship in Santiago, Chile. While in South America, Conway will study senescent Schwann cells in chronic denervation and a proposed antibody conjugated senolytic that targets them. Conway researched in the Twiss Lab at USC and served as both a Scholars United Enrichment Team co-executive and a Fellowship Ambassador. She plans to earn a Ph.D. in molecular biology and pursue a research career.
Aimee Herring is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in anthropology and researches in the Walker Institute’s Migration Lab at USC. Her Fulbright experience will take her to Lithuania, where she will conduct research on sociocultural responses to migration through the linguistic lens of citizenship. This research will contribute to Herring’s dissertation, and she looks forward to connecting with other scholars in the region. Upon completing her Fulbright grant, Herring aims to finish her doctoral program at USC and pursue a scholarly career studying language, migration and identity in Lithuania and the Baltics.
2022 graduate Ashley Labrie majored in international business, management and finance. Through Fulbright, she will conduct an applied study on university-based startups and their paths to funding at the Genisis Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She will draw on her experience as a Critical Language Scholar (Portuguese) and startup banking associate. Following this nine-month study, Labrie plans to publish her findings.
Muskaan Makkar is a 2025 Honors College graduate and Stamps scholar who earned a degree in public health. With funding from Fulbright, she will conduct food policy research in Paris, France, with professor Chantal Julia and the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team at the Sorbonne Paris Nord. Makkar connected with Julia while studying abroad in Switzerland and looks forward to working toward a manuscript. Throughout her undergraduate studies, Makkar conducted food policy research and founded the Student Nutrition Group. Upon her return to the U.S., Makkar will pursue graduate degrees in public health and dietetics.
Honors College graduate Jensen Smith earned a degree in international business in 2022. She will pursue an international MBA at the IE University in Madrid, Spain. She credits her involvement in USC’s Gamecock Consulting Club, as well as her role as a financial services risk consultant, with preparing her for this program. Smith looks forward to focusing on international business and economics at IE while learning amongst a multicultural cohort. Upon completing her Fulbright experience, Smith aspires to a career in nonprofit consulting that focuses on underserved communities.
Cecilia Callozzo, 2025 SCHC graduate and Carolina scholar, was selected for an English Teaching Assistantship to Moldova. Callozzo, who majored in Russian and global studies, chose to decline the award. She will begin a Ph.D. program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall.
In addition to support from national fellowships advisors, USC’s Fulbright candidates gain insight from Fulbright Program Advisors. For the 2024 – 2025 academic year, professor Debbie Billings, professor Cathy Compton-Lilly, professor Kelly Goldberg, James Jacocks, professor Stanislav Markus, professor Nina Moreno, professor Jeff Persels and professor Tom Vogt served as FPAs.
National Fellowships & Scholar Programs provides support Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship applicants. Students interested in learning more should contact USC’s national fellowships team.