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Four Bard College graduates have won 2026–27 Fulbright Awards for individually designed research projects, English teaching assistantships, and the pursuit of a master’s degree. The Fulbright program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. During their grants, Fulbrighters meet, work, live with, and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. Bard College is a Fulbright top producing institution.

Danika Dortch ’26, a Literature major at the College and a French Horn Performance major at the Bard Conservatory, will conduct an independent project on the composer Leoš Janácek and his influence on the writer Milan Kundera.  She will reside in Brno, Czech Republic, and conduct archival research on Janácek, Kundera, and Moravian folk music in order to examine their influence on Czech national identity.

Peter Fields ’26, a Classical Studies major who has served as a Latin and Greek tutor at Bard, has been awarded an English Teaching Assistantship to Romania. While at Bard, he participated in an archaeological dig of an ancient Roman villa in Transylvania, an experience which sparked his interest in Romania and its culture, both ancient and modern.

Annaliese Simons ’26, a Written Arts major, was awarded a Fulbright study-research grant to pursue a master's degree in public policy, with a focus on disability studies, at the Hertie School in Berlin, Germany. Annaliese has been captain of the Bard Debate Team, as well as copresident of the Bard Disabled Students Association. They aspire to a career in disability advocacy.

Shosha Wheeler ’26, a Mathematical Sciences major, has been awarded the Fulbright Austria Community-Combined Award.  For her project, Shosha plans to lead math-based community project for immigrant youth in Vienna, while also taking courses in mathematics at Universität Wien. At Bard, Shosha has served as a math tutor and volunteer for MAGPIES, the math outreach program for girls.

Bridget White ’25, an Anthropology and German Studies double major, has been awarded an English Teaching Assistantship to Germany. While at Bard, Bridget was codirector of EMS and sang in the Georgian Choir.  

Lindsey Jordan ’24, a written arts and German Studies major, has received an English Teaching Assistantship to Germany.  At Bard, Jordan worked on the Conjunctions literary magazine and studied abroad in Berlin. Jordan is currently teaching English in Spain.  

Two Bard College seniors, Celeste Connell ’26 and Peter Fields ’26, and Bard alum Coulson Matto ’25, have received full scholarships to the Classics graduate program at University of Colorado Boulder. All three scholarships include full tuition, as well as stipends for teaching assistantships. “As well as being academically successful, all three have been fantastic student leaders in the Classics program,” said Lauren Curtis, associate professor of Classics at Bard. “Between them they have worked as tutors, organized program events, participated in faculty searches, and more. I couldn't imagine better ambassadors for Bard.” 

Connell’s area of interest lies in ancient literature's portrayals of social interaction, particularly in subjects like friendship, performance, education, exile, and alienation, with a focus on connecting Greco-Roman literature with other literary traditions. “Fully funded MA programs in the humanities are incredibly rare. Especially at a time like this, when many programs are drastically cutting funding due to federal pressure, I'm grateful beyond words to study at the exceptional program offered by CU Boulder, where Classics is thriving,” said Connell. 

Fields’ historical work on the notion of “Romanness” takes him into modern European intellectual history. He is pursuing his masters in Classics in the Latin language track, but is interested in studying ancient ethnography and the Roman imperial period. “I’m grateful to all of Bard’s Classics faculty for getting me to where I am today and excited to continue studying what I am so passionate about,” said Fields. 

Matto, who currently works as a Latin teacher in New York City, focuses on ancient gender and sexuality studies, and looks forward to learning more archaeology-influenced methodology at Boulder to inform the strong literary training received from Bard. “It's deeply meaningful to me to be accepted into this program,” said Matto. “Last year I also attempted to go through the graduate school admissions process, but hit a number of roadblocks because of federal budget cuts and program closures. It is immensely satisfying—and exciting!—to see two years of work pay off. I'm also very grateful to all of my advisors at Bard who helped me work within these circumstances and truly put so much effort into my success.” 

Bard’s Classical Studies Program seeks to understand the languages, literatures, histories, and visual and material cultures of the premodern Mediterranean world. The program approaches these ancient societies from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including linguistics, art history, archaeology, anthropology, and philosophy, while also considering the long and complex legacies of ancient Greece and Rome in art, language, politics, and culture from antiquity to the present day.