Montclair Graduates Win Fulbright Germany and Fulbright Austria Travel Grants

This September, as some German majors and minors enter graduate school and others work in such fields as international admissions, translation, or international communications, several graduates will enter classrooms to represent the United States as English Teaching Assistants (part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program) in Germany and Austria.

2025-2026 Montclair Fulbright and Fulbright Austria Winners

Avelisse Guzman, a German major planning a career as a German teacher, was selected for both a year-long English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) grant from Fulbright and a year-long United States Teaching Assistant (USTA) position through the separate Fulbright Austria organization. Facing a challenging “Qual der Wahl” [torture of choice] between two of the most exciting and competitive post-graduate opportunities available to students today, she has chosen to accepted the Fulbright ETA in Germany.

Catie DeRienzo, a linguistics major who took several German courses, has also accepted a Fulbright ETA in Bremen, Germany for the 2025-2026 year. Catie graduated in December 2024 and has been working as an elementary/middle-school school ESL teacher in Randolph, NJ for the past semester. Ready to build on this professional experience, Catie describes the step to pursue the Fulbright as “a career progression I’m super excited about.”

Brian Concannon, a double major in German and Language, Business & Culture with a Concentration in Arabic, was selected for a Fulbright ETA to Sachsen, Germany. Brian has chosen to continue in his position as an admissions counselor at Juniata College.

Bailey Dunn, a double major in German and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, will take on a funded US Teaching Assistantship (USTA) from Fulbright Austria in the town of Oberwart. Dunn was also selected as a summer participant with the Greek America Corps and as a winner of a competitive full scholarship to the prestigious Middlebury Summer German School in Vermont, where they will spend a summer in full language immersion under a strict language pledge.

Other Recent Winners from the Montclair German Program

Emily Wong, Montclair’s last Fulbrighter to go to Germany for 2023-2024, will stay on to teach as a “Fremdsprachenassistentin” (Foreign Language Assistant) in Bavaria, funded by the German education system.

Alli Kodila, who won a USTA grant from Fulbright Austria to teach in a school near Graz for the 2024-2025 year, will stay on for a second funded year in the same position.

While some of these graduates have specific career goals, others are taking this time to decide what might come next, with the guarantee that these fellowships will continue to open doors to multiple career opportunities.

Where These Winners Started

Almost all of these winners began their German learning journey in German 101 as part of Montclair State University’s two-semester world language graduation requirement. Enjoying the learning experience, each chose to invest themselves in a German minor – or a major – that they either pursued on its own or added onto an existing major at no extra cost and with no extension of their time to graduation.

Many of these students participated in a summer, semester, or year abroad, most of which were supported with grants from the Kade Foundation or through Montclair’s SOAR study abroad access scholarship, which supports dozens of students each year.

Exceptional Results

Overall, Montclair had 32 applicants worldwide in this Fulbright cycle, with a total of 3 Fulbright winners (both to Germany), 11 semi-finalists (4 to Germany), and one additional alternate for Peru. The Fulbright Austria program, which is a separate organization, had two Montclair applicants (Bailey Dunn and Avelisse Guzman), both of which became winners.

This total return is unprecedented for Montclair and for the German program in particular.The results reflect the University’s growing presence on the international stage.

What are Fulbright and Fulbright Austria?

With the motto “Connecting People. Connecting Nations,” the Fulbright organization was founded by Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946 with the goal of ensuring strong cultural diplomacy through competitive fully funded international exchanges. Fulbright  has long been considered one of the most prestigious international scholarships in the United States.

There are several types of Fulbright grants, with all winners from the Montclair German program being awarded English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) positions. Each of these English Teaching Assistantship positions offers students a stipend to cover all living costs and consists of 12 hours per week of supervised language instruction in collaboration with a teaching mentor, while the fellows also have time to pursue additional individual projects, with past Montclair grads having used this time to explore funded European MA degrees, develop performance portfolios, or connect with future career opportunities.

Fostering International Diplomacy and Collaboration

These students will join some of the many Montclair graduates who have chosen to pursue graduate degrees in Europe or launched careers between Europe and the United States, bolstering essential international cultural partnership, diplomacy, educational exchange, and economic collaboration.