Fulbrights for Two
Aili Ramsden ’25 and Sophia Jones ’24 recently were awarded Fulbrights.
As the recipient of a Fulbright/Maastricht University Award, Ramsden began a one-year master’s program in developmental psychology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands this fall.
While at Trinity, Ramsden was a co-founder and co-president of the Disability Cultural Club, among other activities. “I became disabled in high school,” said Ramsden, who earned a B.S. in neuroscience and minored in cognitive science. “Right before I graduated, I lost most function in my dominant arm due to a surgery. Lots of challenges came with that at college: learning how to function in a new place with a new body, with new friends and new professors. I wanted to help other people going through similar situations get the resources I wished I had early on.”
Ramsden conducted research focusing on neuroendocrinology and addiction in the laboratory of Luis A. Martinez, associate professor of neuroscience, who also was her adviser. “He was the first professor who made me realize that research was an option for me,” Ramsden said. “I had little functioning in my arm when I started college, so we worked together to adapt different protocols, and I realized this is the field I really want to go into.”
As she completes her master’s degree at Maastricht, Ramsden, of Lakeville, Massachusetts, also will have a volunteer internship at a local daycare center as part of the Fulbright’s host country engagement requirement. Following her year in the Netherlands, she said, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroimmunology and ultimately wants to be a professor who teaches and conducts research. “I have loved getting to know my professors at Trinity and getting to work with them so closely,” she said. “I’d love to be able to do that with my own students one day.”
Jones, who majored in educational studies and minored in Hispanic studies, received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program Grant that will take her to Argentina next year.
Jones came to Trinity from San Anselmo, California, initially interested in studying history. “On a whim, I took the educational studies introductory course, ‘Analyzing Schools,’ and fell in love with the content,” she said. “I was fascinated by how layered and complex the U.S. school system is and how intertwined school systems are with history. I ended up finding that policy is what ties schools with history, which is why I concentrated in educational policy.”
The grant period is March through November 2026, following the Argentine school calendar. “I’ll be teaching in a postsecondary school, and I hope to be working in a classroom where individuals are in training to be EFL [English as a foreign language] teachers themselves,” Jones said. “This will let me interact with learners one-on-one, so that when I do get to work in policy, I’ll have teaching experience to bring an informed perspective to benefit students.”
In her role as a cultural ambassador through the Fulbright Program, Jones, now working for an educational technology start-up, plans to host a family games club and to create a running group.
“I’m hoping the Fulbright experience will inspire me about where to go next,” Jones said. “I’m also open to pursuing a master’s degree—maybe in linguistics, educational policy, or TESOL [teaching English to speakers of other languages]. . . . I’m excited to see how my perspective about these possibilities expands by living and teaching in Argentina.”
