Grinnell College Graduating Seniors and Alumni Receive Fulbright Grants
Grinnell College graduating seniors and alumni — Connor Arneson, Xonzy Gaddis, Ella Maloney, Lexi Mueldener, and Ella Unal — were awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants to conduct research and teach English abroad for the 2023–24 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. They were selected based on their academic achievement and leadership potential, with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
For over 75 years, Fulbright grants have provided future American leaders with an unparalleled opportunity to study, conduct research, and teach abroad, with the goal of increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
“A Fulbright grant year is an exceptional opportunity for Grinnellians to direct their knowledge, skills, and passions through global inquiry and exchange,” said Ann Landstrom, Fulbright program adviser (FPA) and assistant dean and director of global fellowships and awards in Grinnell College’s Center for Careers, Life, and Service. She continued, “Our grantees are poised to be successful ambassadors around the globe — expanding their world view and gaining a deep appreciation of their host country and its people.”
Connor Arneson ’23
Connor Arneson, a history major from Minneapolis, Minnesota, was selected for a Fulbright research/study grant in Warsaw, Poland, where he will research the role of digital media in shaping historical narratives with a particular focus on YouTube and museums. His project title is Virtual Narratives: Digital Media and Poland’s Past.
“I’m excited to research something I’m passionate about in a place that I find fascinating,” said Arneson. Arneson studied abroad in Wroclaw, Silesia, Poland during the fall 2021 semester where he studied history, philosophy, and language. Through his seminars he gained a deeper understanding of the complexities of historical memory in central Europe.
The University of Warsaw’s Center for Research and Social Memory will be Arneson’s Fulbright host institution with Dr. Joanna Wawrzyniak and Dr. Adam Ostolski serving as mentors for his grant year. In addition to Warsaw he will travel to other Polish communities such as Gdańsk, Lublin, and Sejny to obtain a nuanced look into how digital media is being used across Poland.
Arneson has experience working in public media, historical nonprofits, and YouTube. While in college he has held digital history internships with GBH, Pacific Atrocities Education, and Armchair Historian LLC; and in high school he created History House Productions where he conducted research and produced videos. With familial connection to Poland, he was a volunteer, researcher, and writer for the Polish American Cultural Institute of Minnesota.
Arneson has been named to the Dean’s List at Grinnell College, a 2022 recipient of the Charles E. Payne Memorial Scholarship in History, and a 2019–23 scholar with the Harry Hopkins 1912 Grant. His other extracurricular activities in college are Standup Comedy Club and a cappella. Following the Fulbright, Arneson plans to pursue a career in documentary filmmaking and/or public media.
Xonzy Gaddis, Graduate in December 2022
Xonzy Gaddis, a political science major with a Latin American studies concentration, was selected for a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in Colombia. Gaddis will serve as a language-teaching assistant for Colombian students at the university level — preparing English language lessons and activities and giving presentations on topics related to the United States.
“The Fulbright ETA in Colombia is an exhilarating opportunity to gain firsthand experience and knowledge of the region’s language, culture, and education system,” said Gaddis. “This immersive experience will undoubtedly broaden my perspective and enhance my academic and professional pursuits.”
In addition to assistant teaching, she plans to organize a gastronomy and gardening project with her assigned school to learn about land engagement practices and to produce and share locally grown food. Gaddis will attend local cumbia and vallenato cultural centers and participate in festivals to explore in depth the Afro-indigenous heritage that permeates the land through music and dance.
Gaddis, originally from Houston, Texas, and Paint Lick, Kentucky, has several experiences to inform her work as a teaching assistant. As a Davis Projects for Peace Grantee, she taught youth ages 14 to 17 years old in Colombia and Venezuela, supporting their English language development for career opportunities. Gaddis was a bilingual teacher for Ignite, a peer educator for the Anne Frank Center Traveling Exhibit, and an assistant swim coach for the Grinnell TigerSharks.
Currently, Gaddis is the administrator for International Programs at Save the Children in Washington D.C. where she had served as a remote intern while in college for the portfolio growth and performance department. She held other internships with the United States Embassy in Peru, Micah Legal, and Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose.
Gaddis has been named to the Grinnell College Dean’s List for several semesters and is a Hispanic Scholarship Fund Finalist for outstanding academic achievement. At Grinnell, she was a media specialist with the Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership, member of the swimming and diving team, representative for the Student-Athlete Council, president and historian for the Student Organization of Latinxs, and campus events coordinator and senator with student government.
Following the Fulbright, Gaddis will continue her dedication to youth justice across Latin America by attending graduate school and pursuing a Juris Doctorate and Master of Arts in Latin American studies.
Isabella “Ella” Maloney ’23
Ella Maloney, a sociology and Chinese double major from West Chester, Pennsylvania, was selected for a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in Taiwan. Ella will support English language education and cultural exchange at elementary and junior high schools in Yilan County. She may also be invited to consult with teachers on American cultural issues and assist in the editing or writing of educational materials for English teaching. Maloney is also proposing a community engagement project to serve as an envoy for Taiwanese youth global exchange — introducing opportunities for international experiences and mentoring applications and interviews.
“I am thrilled for this incredible opportunity to teach and live in Taiwan, a country with a rich cultural heritage and vibrant community. I am excited to continue learning Mandarin, immersing myself in the local culture of Yilan, and sampling the amazing food that Taiwan has to offer,” said Maloney. “I cannot wait to begin this new chapter in my life and I look forward to the many challenges and rewards that lie ahead.”
Maloney’s engagement with education and specifically teaching stems from her work as a writing mentor through tutorial courses at Grinnell College and writing mentor at the Newton Correctional Facility through the Liberal Arts in Prison Program. She created curriculum and led classes as a global mentor and teacher for the Housing and Liberal Arts Beyond Borders program while on off-campus study in Japan, fall 2022. She has served as a course grader in the sociology department, paraprofessional educator with the Keˈelikolani Middle School in Hawaii, and language tutor for local schools in Japan.
While at Grinnell, she has also served as a representative for the Sociology Student Educational Policy Committee, student ambassador in Development and Alumni Relations, student worker with Dining Services, and story-share lead for Student Action.
Maloney, a Grinnell College Dean’s List recipient, was honored as a Critical Language Scholar in summer 2022 and was a Japan Rotary International Youth Exchange high school student in 2018–19. Following the Fulbright, Maloney plans to work in intercultural affairs, combining her passion for language learning and community engagement in the realm of education and nonprofit work.
Alexandra “Lexi” Mueldener ’23
Lexi Mueldener, an anthropology and Spanish double major from Arvada, Colorado, was selected for a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in Colombia. Mueldener will serve as a language-teaching assistant for Colombian students at the university level — preparing English language lessons and activities and giving presentations on topics related to the United States.
“I am excited to participate in a mutually beneficial relationship with my host institution and community in Colombia, in which I will be able to both share my own culture and learn about different cultures,” said Mueldener. During her time in Colombia she plans to work on a supplemental project regarding the decolonization of exhibitions in cultural institutions, and she is eager to hike and learn about environmental activism in her host region.
In spring semester 2022, Mueldener attended the University of Seville in Spain where she studied geography and history and served as an English teaching assistant at a secondary institution. At Grinnell College she has been a statistics course mentor, a writing mentor, a Connecting Grinnellians tutor, and a tutoring coordinator for Grinnell-Newburg Community High School through a service leadership work study.
A Grinnell College Dean’s List recipient, Mueldener served as a captain for the women’s golf team, co-president of Student Athletes Leading Social Change, and elected member to the anthropology Student Educational Policy Committee. While in college, she interned and volunteered with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and studied at the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Field School.
Mueldener shared that the Fulbright grant is an opportunity to expand her own skills of cross-cultural communication and learning, which are essential in her field of anthropology and career in museum education/exhibit development. She wants to make museums more inclusive and representative spaces for everyone and continues to push herself to find new ways to see the world.
Ella Unal ’23
Ella Unal, a German studies major from Springfield, Illinois, was selected for a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in Germany. Unal will teach English language and American studies at a German elementary, middle, high, or vocational/technical school.
“As a prospective high school teacher, I believe that flexibility and open-mindedness are at the core of what makes a quality educator,” said Unal. “I aspire to strengthen these traits in myself during a Fulbright year by deepening my understanding of German culture, exposing myself to a new set of pedagogies, and collaborating with my teaching mentor.”
Unal’s experiences in teaching and tutoring have prepared her to best support her students in Germany. She has been a teaching fellow at Breakthrough Collaborative Twin Cities, tutor for the German Department, observer in Grinnell-Newburg Community High School, and a writing mentor at both Grinnell College and the Grinnell Liberal Arts in Prison Program. Through her off-campus study in Freiburg Germany, she volunteered with the Inside America program where she presented on the United States education system in a German Gymnasium.
Unal is looking forward to further opportunities for cultural exchange. While in Germany spring 2022, she spent a week working on a farm in Ingenried where she gained exposure to Bavarian German and learned more about the sustainable agriculture techniques popular in her host’s region. Returning to this region she will join hiking groups and volunteer at community gardens. To further community engagement, she plans to become involved at a local library facilitating book and poetry exchange and presenting a slideshow on her hometowns of Charleston, South Carolina and Springfield, Illinois.
Unal is a Grinnell College Dean’s List recipient, Founder’s Scholar, and German Studies Student Education Policy Committee member. Following her Fulbright year, Unal plans to get a Master of Arts in teaching at Bard College with the goal of becoming a high school English teacher in northeastern United States.