Six from SU Earn Prestigious Fulbright Student Awards

By SU Public Relations

SALISBURY, MD---Six Salisbury University alumni have earned the prestigious U.S. Fulbright Student Award for the 2026-27 program year.

Madysen Eutsler ’17 and Neila Henrice ’26 won study/research awards to the UK and Hungary, respectively.

Owen Beabout ’26 and Camila Esquivel-Goelkel ’26 earned English Teaching Assistantships (ETAs) to Spain. Logan Lankford ’26, and Charles Reigle ’26 earned ETAs to Bulgaria and Slovakia, respectively.

All were supported by SU’s Office of Nationally Competitive Fellowships and its director, Dr. Kristen Walton, as well as other University faculty and staff.

“The Fulbright Student Award represents one of the most prestigious honors in higher education,” said SU President Carolyn Ringer Lepre. “This year, we are proud to have one of our largest classes of Fulbright Students yet, with six of our nine semifinalists earning selections. Through the Fulbright Program, they will have the opportunity to expand their education on a global scale while also touching the lives of so many others.”

Madysen Eutsler

After earning her B.A. in history from SU in 2017, Eutsler, of Salisbury, traveled first to Ireland to further her education, earning her Master of Philosophy in Modern Irish History from Trinity College Dublin, and then to the United Kingdom, earning her M.S. in Information Management and Preservation from the University of Glasgow (Scotland). However, her time in Glasgow was cut short by COVID-19, and she had to rely on digital sources for her dissertation instead of interacting with physical primary sources.

Her Fulbright Student Award will give her an opportunity to return to Glasgow while researching her Ph.D. dissertation, “Scotland’s Troubles: the History and Memory of the Northern Ireland Conflict in Glasgow,” at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.

“The Fulbright Award will allow me finally to explore the physical spaces and engage with sources within them,” she said. “Being in Glasgow gives me access to several archival repositories related to Glasgow’s history. … While I have begun looking into digital sources associated with mainstream news outlets, it is vital for me to be living in Glasgow, walking the streets of the city and getting to know the people who lived through the Troubles. Compiling oral histories from people who were present will add significantly to my research.”

In addition to working on her dissertation, Eutsler plans to volunteer with the Breastfeeding Network, which helps mothers, babies, and families navigate their breastfeeding journeys, and will advise Scottish students interested in studying abroad in the U.S. through EducationUSA.

Her Fulbright application was supported by Drs. Emily Story, Tom Goyens, and Kara French of the History Department.

Neila Henrice

Henrice, a nursing major from Salisbury, was inspired to enter the healthcare field as a child in her native Haiti, which suffered a cholera outbreak following the catastrophic earthquake that ravaged the country in 2010. A personal experience with the Haitian healthcare system following a family member’s illness solidified her decision before she moved to the U.S. at age 12.

With her Fulbright Student Award, she will pursue an M.S. in nursing with a specialization in intensive care through Hungary’s University of Pécs.

“The two-year, full-time program … offers advanced clinical training in emergency disease patterns, advanced diagnostics, and reanimatology,” she said. “This relatively new program is ideal for me because it integrates cultural awareness, prevention, and holistic nursing practices. … Additionally, the school attracts students from all over the world, fostering daily opportunities for students like me to interact with world-class medical educators, engaging across cultures and clinical approaches.”

While at the University of Pécs, she hopes to serve as a teacher’s assistant in English and collaborate with local non-governmental organizations. She also plans to volunteer with the Hungarian Red Cross or develop a cardiovascular health education program for residents there.

After completing the Fulbright program, she plans to pursue a D.N.P. with a focus on global health and community-based care, working in under-resourced communities and launching a health nonprofit.

As an SU student, Henrice also received the Gilman Scholarship, allowing her to attend a two-week study abroad program hosted by the University in Italy.

Her Fulbright application was supported by Kristen Hammerer and Dr. Mary DiBartolo of the School of Nursing, and Phillip Brunecz of TRIO Student Support Services.

Owen Beabout

A Spanish and computer science major from Gaithersburg, MD, Beabout hopes his ETA in Spain will improve his skills as a future teacher and allow him to learn more about the Spanish education system.

“Growing up taking Spanish classes in public school, I had amazing teachers who introduced me to Spain and Latin America,” he said. “However, I was left wanting to learn more about Spain and the origins of the Spanish language in Europe. In college, I took classes on Spanish cultures and literatures … and I participated in a study abroad course in southern Spain. … Now, I am interested to experience the unique cultures in northern Spain I have only learned about, like the Basque Country and Catalonia.”

Beabout hopes his Fulbright experience aids in his planned career as a middle school Spanish teacher, “a profession that has seen a decrease in the number of males participating. … I want to share my cultural awareness in the classroom by introducing students to different traditions in Spain and to inspire more people in the U.S. to learn a second language.”

As a cofounder of the Community Language Assistant program, Beabout oversees volunteers helping a local middle school class of native Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole speakers with classroom content. While in Spain, he plans to continue that spirit of community engagement by potentially developing an English-speaking running club to engage with students, teaching basic computer programming skills to students, and working with EducationUSA.

His Fulbright application was supported by Drs. Sally Perret, Corinne Pubill, and Ricardo Vazquez-Diaz of the Modern Languages and Intercultural Studies Department, and Bennett Middle School history teacher Julia Berg.

Camila Esquivel-Goelkel

A Spanish and international studies major from Montgomery Village, MD, Esquivel-Goelkel plans to build on her previous experiences teaching English to non-English speakers during her Fulbright ETA.

She has taught “Spanish for Kids” at the Wicomico Public Library and currently serves as a community language assistant, helping students who are not yet proficient in English strengthen their reading, writing, and speaking skills.

She developed an admiration for Spain’s artistic and historic heritage through her SU coursework and hopes to embody a spirit of activism and awareness during her time in Madrid, modeled after the social and political participation of many of the city’s native residents following the country’s transition to democracy in the 1970s.

During her ETA, she plans to put her experience with SU’s Model United Nations (UN) Club to use, proposing a learning activity centered on the initiative, encouraging students to research an assigned country’s position on a given topic, writing a position paper, and engaging in a debate while working together toward drafting a resolution.

“This activity strengthens their English language skills in meaningful, real-world ways and also encourages collaboration,” she said.

While in Madrid, she also hopes to engage with cultural organizations such as Madrid Creatives and La Casa Encendida. Following her Fulbright experience, she hopes to pursue a master’s degree in international development policy with an eye toward becoming a project officer in education or cultural programs at the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Her Fulbright application was also supported by Perret, Pubill, and Vazquez-Diaz, as well as Dr. Eric Rittinger, SU Model UN Club advisor, of the Political Science Department.

Logan Lankford

Lankford, a health science major from Westover, MD, hopes to merge her expertise of English with her interest in healthcare during her ETA, promoting the PINK Foundation’s InnovAid program. The initiative was designed to combat growing healthcare workforce shortages in Bulgaria by encouraging teens to explore careers in the field.

Using lesson plans developed as part of a research project through SU’s Glenda Chatham and Robert G. Clarke Honors College and strategies she honed as a consultant in the SU Writing Center, she hopes to implement creative writing and presentation projects for her Bulgarian students that will help building their language acquisition skills while also developing their interpersonal skills.

Beyond the classroom, Lankford looks forward to putting her skills to use in the greater community by starting a walking club to help Bulgarians in her area learn the language while also increasing their daily physical activity — a key strategy for forestalling cardiovascular disease, the country’s No. 1 cause of preventable death.

In addition to EducationUSA, she plans to work with American Spaces, as U.S. Department of State program through which participants learn about American culture.

“My expertise on the culture of the Chesapeake Bay region is something I am eager to share with students,” Lankford said.

Following her Fulbright experience, she plans to pursue a Doctor of Physical Therapy at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where she has been accepted. At SU, she also was the institution’s first recipient of the Fulbright UK Summer Institute Award, allowing her to study for three weeks at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Her Fulbright application was supported by Drs. Margarita Treuth of the School of Health Sciences, Viktoria Basham of the Clarke Honors College, and Melissa Bugdal, director of the SU Writing Center, of the English Department.

Charles Reigle

Reigle, a history major from Pasadena, MD, declined his Fulbright offer to pursue other opportunities. His application was supported by Walton, and Drs. Elizabeth Ragan and Emin Leliç of the History Department.

More than 100 SU students have won national and international fellowships, scholarships and awards since 2011, including 47 Fulbright Students. The U.S. Department of State and Chronicle of Higher Education consistently name SU among the top producers of Fulbright Students in the U.S.

The Fulbright is America’s flagship international exchange program and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

SU students or alumni who are interested in applying for national fellowships should complete an online interest form or contact Walton for assistance. For more information, visit the Office of Nationally Competitive Fellowships webpage.

Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at the SU website.