Four New Grads Honored With Fulbright Awards

Four Lewis & Clark freshly minted graduates will spend the next year overseas after receiving prestigious Fulbright awards. Established in 1946 and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Program fosters mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges. Lewis & Clark is one of the top producers of Fulbright award winners in the country, demonstrating a sustained commitment to international education and engagement.

Read about Lewis & Clark’s 2025 Fulbright recipients: Charley Booker, Logan Drain, Jodi Fallas, and Maggie Martin.

  Charley Booker BA ’25

Majors: Computer Science and German Studies
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Country Assignment: Germany

Fulbright Details

I will be an English teaching assistant at a vocational school in Wiesbaden, Germany, from September 15, 2025 to June 30, 2026. I have always loved working with children and want to explore the possibility of becoming a teacher in the future. I want to become a big part of whatever community I end up in—I believe community is the most important part of life.

Impact of Overseas Study

I studied abroad in Munich for my junior year, and it was life changing. I never thought I would be able to do something so far out of my comfort zone, but it was one of the best years of my life. I pushed every limit I thought I had, I and created lifelong community and friendships that I am still in contact with to this day.

Future Plans

I’m unsure about my future plans. I’m hoping this experience will give me some more insight on what direction I want to go in.

  Logan Drain BA ’25

Credit: Makenna Susman BA ’23

Major: International Affairs
Minor: Gender Studies
Hometown: Norco, California
Country Assignment: Germany

Fulbright Details

I am very excited to have this amazing opportunity to return to Germany and serve as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia! I am still awaiting details of my final school placement, but it could be anything from a primary school to a secondary or a technical school. ETAs assist full-time English teachers in the classroom. The assignment may include team-teaching a lesson with an English teacher, discussing a topic from the textbook with a small group of students, engaging in one-on-one conversation practice with students, helping all or part of a class review for a test, or designing and teaching a unit on an aspect of U.S. culture or a current event. The grant runs from mid-September 2025 to the very end of June 2026.

Making a Difference

I started considering an ETA Fulbright as a way to try and give back to the place where I had studied abroad and which had taught me so much. When I was studying in Berlin, I felt like I learned something new every day; the Fulbright seemed like a way that I could pay that back and, in a sense, pay it forward. This is an opportunity for me to continue my learning and growth in the German language and my understanding of German culture, as much as it is an opportunity for me to foster that growth and understanding in the English language and American culture in others. This kind of cross-cultural exchange and connection is something that I find really beautiful and something that I think we need now in the world more than ever.

Impact of Overseas Study

I had the pleasure of participating in the fall 2023 overseas program in Berlin, Germany, which was truly an unforgettable and invaluable experience. I was able to much more fully develop my German speaking and understanding skills, and finally began learning how to truly and dynamically express myself and the world around me in a different language. But even more valuable than that was the ability to experience a new culture and forge connections that are able to overcome the obstacles of language and distance. These types of experiences and connections are how we can better foster empathy and understanding in a world that desperately needs it.

Future Plans

I am still figuring out my future plans and what I want to do with the rest of my life; however, I do know that whatever I end up doing, my experiences while on the grant will greatly inform those choices. The spirit of fostering intercultural understanding, which the Fulbright is grounded in, is something that I hold very dear to me. It’s something I want to keep alive along whatever path I take after the end of the grant period.

Faculty Mentors

I want to express my unending gratitude to Professors Therese Augst [German], Leah Gilbert [political science], Todd Watson [psychology], Kim Brodkin [gender studies], Suparna Chaudhry [international affairs], and Kyle Lascurettes [international affairs] for helping me through the whole process of getting this grant, the purgatory of the waiting period, and for all that they have taught me.

  Jodi Fallas BA ’25

Major: Art History
Minor: Asian Studies
Hometown: Waialua, Hawai‘i
Country Assignment: Vietnam

Fulbright Details

My Fulbright award is an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) to Vietnam! I will help teach the English language to students at Kiên Giang College, located in Rạch Giá City, Kiên Giang Province, Vietnam. I’m leaving in early August and will remain in the country for 10 months until June 2026.

Making a Difference

I want to teach compassion through communication! I believe that in a growing individualistic world, it’s more important than ever to foster global connections, and I hope to use education as a launching point for this. My greatest wish for my time in Vietnam is to provide an authentic and nurturing environment for my students, creating a space they can rely on for support and cultural exchange.

Impact of Overseas Study

I studied abroad in Prague in the spring of 2024. It was an incredible experience, one that I credit for giving me the confidence to move overseas—again! Living in a foreign country forced me to better understand my own identity, to laugh at my mistakes often, and to learn and listen earnestly. I don’t think it’s possible to fully step into another’s “shoes,” but for a moment, I was allowed to walk beside them, and that resulted in a beautiful relationship between the community and myself.

Future Plans

I plan to apply for an integrated master’s/PhD program in Asian art history this year, with the plan to begin school upon my completion of the Fulbright grant. I think teaching English in Vietnam will help me center my academic and personal passions, providing a necessary foundation for my future studies and career.

Faculty Mentors

I want to especially thank my advisors, Dawn Odell [professor of art history] and Kabir Mansingh-Heimsath [assistant professor with term of anthropology and director of Asian studies], for their indispensable support and encouragement during my time at L&C and the Fulbright application process. They showed me that anything is possible if you have faith in yourself—and put in the hard work!

  Maggie Martin BA ’25

Credit: Nina Johnson

Majors: Art History and German Studies
Hometown: St. Paul, Minnesota
Country Assignment: Germany

Fulbright Details

I’m so incredibly grateful and honored to have been accepted as a Fulbright scholar! I’ve been assigned to teach at a school in Berlin—my top choice—which truly feels like a dream come true. Ever since visiting Berlin on a school field trip in eighth grade, I’ve hoped to live there one day. While I was also accepted to Fulbright Austria, I ultimately chose Fulbright Germany because it aligns more closely with my goals and interests. I’ll be teaching English to middle and high school students for a year, and I hope to stay for graduate school afterward.

Making a Difference

I applied for a teaching Fulbright because I wanted to impart the skills, knowledge, and empathy that I was given at Lewis & Clark, especially by my German professor, Therese Augst, to younger students during such a tumultuous time globally.

Impact of Overseas Study

I did the Munich Year Abroad Program my junior year. It was absolutely the best part of my L&C experience. My best friend Lilith and I made the most of it and traveled all over.

Future Plans

I intend to go back to school for museum curation after my two years in the Fulbright program. Possibly abroad!

Overseas and Off-Campus Programs Academic Awards and Fellowships