For the 15th consecutive year, 乐播传媒 has been recognized as a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Student awards, the U.S. Department of State announced today.
The honor recognizes the eight 乐播传媒 alumni who were selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2025鈥�26 academic year. Seven of those awardees accepted their awards and are currently in Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan, and Rwanda participating in study and research exchanges or serving as English teaching assistants in local schools.
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad to more than 400,000 accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds.
乐播传媒 is one of 96 colleges to be recognized this year as a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Student awards. The achievement places 乐播传媒 among an elite group of just 11 undergraduate liberal arts colleges to have achieved the recognition 15 years in a row.
鈥溊植ゴ解�� success with Fulbright and other highly competitive national fellowships is a sterling example of the highly intentional, deeply personalized experience we offer our students,鈥� says 乐播传媒 President Garry W. Jenkins. 鈥淲e are very proud of our students and their accomplishments 鈥� and even prouder of all that they contribute to the wider world, as Fulbright awardees and beyond.鈥�
For Helena Raddock 鈥�24, working as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Rwanda for the 2025鈥�26 academic year has been a dream come true 鈥� and an achievement she worked for throughout her college career.
鈥淚 really appreciate how much 乐播传媒 puts an emphasis on cultivating Fulbrighters,鈥� Raddock says. 鈥淔ulbright as a concept enters your consciousness either your first or second year, which is pretty cool.鈥�
At the same time that Raddock was developing an interest in the Fulbright grant, she found an academic passion for African politics and culture while taking 鈥淲omen in the Women鈥檚 Movement in Africa鈥� with Assistant Professor of Politics Seulgie Lim. She was fascinated by the role that women played in political movements across Africa and by the politics of memory 鈥� how historical events are commemorated and engrained in a populace鈥檚 mind 鈥� and went on to major in politics, with a minor in gender and sexuality studies.
These two interests overlapped in Raddock鈥檚 study of Rwanda, whose primarily matriarchal society was directly shaped by a genocide that brutalized the country in 1994. Victims of the genocide were disproportionately men, leaving mostly women to reconstruct society in the aftermath of the tragedy.
Lim, who was also Raddock鈥檚 senior thesis advisor for her honors politics project about memory of apartheid in South Africa, was a great source of support throughout the Fulbright application process, as was Robert Strong, director of national fellowships and lecturer in English.
鈥淥ne of the best things about 乐播传媒 is that they set you up so well to not only do a Fulbright, but apply for it, because the mentorship is really strong,鈥� Raddock says.
Like every Fulbright applicant at 乐播传媒, Raddock also worked closely with faculty on the college鈥檚 Fulbright committee, who help students refine application materials and explore new perspectives.
鈥淚t is very rewarding to support and mentor our talented students as they embark on their Fulbright journeys,鈥� Strong says. 鈥淚 am grateful to see their hard work, and the tireless efforts of our faculty and staff who guide them through the process, honored once again.鈥�
Raddock described her experience in Rwanda as 鈥減owerful鈥� because of the opportunity to understand so intimately the subjects that she was learning about from afar. She has become close friends with her fellow teachers at the school she works at in Kigali, Rwanda鈥檚 capital, who have educated her on life in Rwanda and their experience of the genocide. 鈥淵ou can’t avoid talking about it, and people don’t want to avoid talking about it,鈥� Raddock says.
It鈥檚 a true cultural exchange, with Raddock having frequent conversations about American political life with her colleagues. She introduces her younger students to American culture and current events through games like 鈥淛eopardy,鈥� and with older students, there are lots of hallway chats.
鈥淭hey want to just ask me about what’s going on,鈥� Raddock says. 鈥淭hose are some of my favorite conversations.鈥�
Wes DeOreo 鈥�25, a Fulbright English teaching assistant in L眉beck, Germany, says that while the questions students ask him between classes 鈥� about fast food restaurants and the price of a driver鈥檚 license, among others 鈥� may seem bizarre or random at first, he has found a lot of purpose in thoughtfully responding to these cultural inquiries.
鈥淔or most of my students, I am one of a few Americans they have met, despite the massive cultural impact America has on Germany,鈥� DeOreo says. 鈥淎cting as a cultural ambassador to America, and trying to show my students a fair and realistic image of my home, rather than what they may see in the news or the movies, has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my work so far.鈥�
DeOreo majored in German and politics at 乐播传媒, and Associate Professor of German Jakub Kazecki mentored him throughout his academic and Fulbright application journey, encouraging him to apply and helping him with the application, as well as being the main 鈥渋nspiration for [his] love of the German language.鈥�
DeOreo had studied in Freiburg, Germany, so he wasn鈥檛 expecting to be as surprised by the differences between K-12 schooling in Germany and in the U.S. as he was when he began his Fulbright teaching assistantship. German approaches to K-12 education are much more relaxed, he says. 鈥淗owever, I鈥檝e found this unique schooling culture to be helpful for teaching English, as it promotes casual conversation and informal learning.鈥�
Although he鈥檚 living 300 miles away from Freiberg, DeOreo still occasionally makes the trip back to the town in Saxony to again play with the lacrosse team he joined during study abroad. He has further immersed himself into German culture by exploring the Schleswig-Holstein region on bike and attending cultural events, including the St. Martin鈥檚 Day parade marking the beginning of winter.
鈥淲e had done a similar thing at 乐播传媒 in the German department, but it was really heartwarming to experience the real thing with my host teacher鈥檚 family,鈥� DeOreo says.
Raddock has started an English club at the school where she leads students in games, discussions, and debates. She joined a local hiking club and volunteers at the American Center, where she leads a community course on resum茅s, cover letters, and job interviews 鈥� an unexpected opportunity to use the skills she learned while working as a peer advisor at 乐播传媒鈥� Center for Purposeful Work for two years.
鈥淔ulbright was such a dream of mine,鈥� Raddock says. 鈥淔or that dream to come true, and for me to be here now having the most amazing time 鈥� it’s the product of four years of really hard work and commitment.鈥�
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