Fulbright Scholars
Two 2023 Trinity College graduates—Aiden Chisholm and Nic Zacharewski—have been awarded Fulbright Program grants to support teaching in Peru and research in Germany, respectively.
Chisholm, of Westfield, Massachusetts, received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program Grant to teach English at a postsecondary school in Peru starting in March 2024. After completing majors in political science, international studies, and language and culture studies: Hispanic studies and Arabic, he said, “I believe that going to Peru is the next step in bringing my cross-cultural communication to the level of my Spanish-language communication.”
A Grossman Global Studies Grant through Trinity’s Center for Urban and Global Studies (CUGS) in 2022 allowed Chisholm the opportunity to research Orientalism in tourist shops in Granada and Cordoba, Spain, following a semester studying abroad in Granada. A passion for languages, cultures, and travel led to a Fulbright application as the next logical step.
Chisholm said his goal, following the Fulbright ETA, is to get a master’s degree. “I might like to be a professor myself; it combines research and teaching, which are both things I enjoy,” he said. “I really want to do something international in scope, and I’d like to use my language skills every day in a work setting.”
Zacharewski, of Holt, Michigan, received a Fulbright Study/Research Grant to work at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg starting in September 2023. He came to Trinity as a member of the Interdisciplinary Science Program (ISP), which gives first-year students an opportunity to conduct research. A neurology research position at Hartford Hospital confirmed his interest in majoring in neuroscience, but his path to a second major in German studies was not as straightforward.
After studying Latin in high school, Zacharewski took a Latin language proficiency exam during his first week at Trinity to forego a language course requirement and load his schedule with science courses. He didn’t pass it, but he remembered enjoying an introductory German class in middle school and decided to pick up that language again.
A summer research internship at the German Cancer Research Center in 2021 allowed Zacharewski to combine his majors in a unique way and inspired him to apply for the Fulbright, which will be carried out in the same lab.
Zacharewski’s plans for the summer include continuing his research at Hartford Hospital, studying for the MCAT, and working as an EMT. He said he’ll apply to medical schools during the grant period. “I’ve always been interested in medicine and the science behind it,” he said, adding, “I want to be a physician, but also someone who conducts research.”
