17 Bears win prestigious Fulbright & Rotary Global awards for 2026

Baylor already ranked No. 1 in Texas for most Fulbright scholars — and this year, 12 more BU students get to add their names to that list.

Each of those Bears is headed overseas as part of the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, studying and teaching in countries ranging from Germany and France to South Korea and Taiwan. Two more BU students earned similarly prestigious Rotary Global Grant Scholarships, which will fund their graduate studies in the U.K.

And that’s not all… Three Baylor professors have also earned Fulbright recognition, with awards providing them unique research experiences in South Africa, Antarctica, Slovakia and Brazil.

Here’s the (lengthy) list of student honorees, along with where the honors will take them:

• Anuoluwapo “Anu” Agbi (BS ’23), neuroscience graduate from Houston — Rotary Global Grant Scholarship for MA in health humanities at University College London
• Ella Carlile (BA ’26), language/linguistics graduate from Dunlap, Ill. — Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award to South Korea
• R. Langley Cerovich (BBA ’25), economics/finance graduate from Vail, Colo. — Fulbright Netherlands Maastricht Study/Research Award
• Caleb Eliazer (BS ’23), economics/neuroscience graduate from Orinda, Calif. — Fulbright-Schuman Award European Union
• Mary Dickinson (BA ’26), University Scholars/classics graduate from Plano, Texas — Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award to Germany
• Travis Gould (BA ’26), religion/English graduate from Juniper, Fla. — Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award to Bulgaria
• Emma Irwin (BA ’22), French graduate from Virginia — Fulbright France Study/Research Award
• Megan Koontz (BA ’26), Asian studies/linguistics graduate from Frisco, Texas — Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award to South Korea
• Alan Koroluk (BA ’26), political science graduate from San Antonio — Fulbright Binational Business Program to Mexico
• Annalise Shero (BA ’26), University Scholar/great texts graduate from North Richland Hills, Texas — Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award to Cyprus
• Sidney Smith (BA ’26), international studies graduate from New Braunfels, Texas — Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award to Taiwan
• Josh Thayil (BS ’26), health science studies graduate from San Antonio — Rotary Global Grant Scholarship for MA in AI in Medicine and Health at the University of Bristol
• David Thevatheril (BA ’26), University Scholar/philosophy graduate from Winfield, Ill. — Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award to Nepal
• Haley Williams (BA ’26), University Scholar — Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award to South Korea

And the faculty honorees:

• Dr. Jonathan Kelber, associate professor of biology — Fulbright Specialist Program; leading scientific outreach in Slovakia
• Dr. Lesley McAllister, professor of piano — Fulbright U.S. Scholar; will teach, research and collaborate with institutions in Brazil
• Dr. Jay Pulliam, Baylor’s W.M. Keck Foundation Professor of Geophysics — Fulbright U.S. Scholar; will conduct a seismic investigation of the continental margins of Antarctica and South Africa

“These award recipients are, in every sense, the embodiment of what a Baylor education aspires to produce — men and women formed for worldwide leadership and service, venturing now to build bridges of understanding across cultures and communities,” says Dr. Andrew P. Hogue (MA ’05, PhD ’09), associate dean for engaged learning in the College of Arts & Sciences. “Behind each of them stands a great cloud of witnesses — faculty mentors, staff advisors, a Baylor community that has enlarged their ambitions, refined their skills and equipped them for the very things the world needs from them now. We could not be more proud.”

Sic ’em, Bears!