Nine University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students and recent graduates were offered Fulbright grants to pursue international education, research and teaching experiences around the globe this coming year.
Seven of the awardees have accepted grants from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which builds international relationships to help solve global challenges. This flagship international educational exchange program of the U.S. government awards grants to students based on their academic and professional achievement as well as their ambassadorial skills and leadership potential. The Fulbright student program will fund more than 2,000 U.S. citizens to live abroad for the 2026-27 academic year.
The awardees include three students from SLCL: one major and two minors.
“The Fulbright program provides opportunities not just around the globe, but across disciplines,” said David Schug, director of the National and International Scholarships Program at Illinois. “Our Illinois recipients are pursuing careers in law, medicine and education. They are future environmentalists, immigration specialists and professors, all seeking to enrich their profession and better support others with their Fulbright experiences.”
John Armenta, of Cortland, Ill., will teach English in France — a continuation of his previous study as a Gilman Scholar working as a teaching assistant in a middle school of a Paris suburb. He is the first U of I undergraduate student to pursue a customized major in French Language Instruction (Teaching in French). As a first-generation Mexican-American and graduate of Dekalb High School, he is eager to connect French students to some of the unique and unfamiliar aspects of the U.S. and serve as a bridge between cultures. Armenta has developed a passion for the French language through his studies at Illinois and in his time abroad, pairing that love of the language with his other passion of teaching students of all backgrounds and identities. After completing the Fulbright term, Armenta plans to teach high school French in Illinois and pursue graduate studies in applied linguistics.
Nina Stepaniants, of Gurnee, Ill., earned a bachelor’s degree in global studies and a minor in French from Illinois. Stepaniants will teach English in Armenia, which holds a special significance for her as she has an Armenian father. She grew up in a bilingual Russian/English household and visited Armenia while in high school at Lake Forest High. She seeks to continue building her English teaching skills in support of her passion for helping refugees and migrants as they integrate into new communities. Stepaniants has taught English to refugee populations — both on campus and in her hometown — for multiple organizations, such as Forging Opportunities for Refugees in America. After teaching in Armenia, she plans to build welcoming communities for refugees, working in case management for local nonprofits to make an impact at the community level. She also will pursue a master’s degree and a career in advocacy in order to foster more large-scale change at a national and international level.
Noam Zipris, who is from Highland Park, Ill., will use his Fulbright award to earn a Master’s degree in Advanced Public and Cultural Diplomacy for International Relations at the L’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy. Zipris received a bachelor’s degree in history with minors in Italian and legal studies this spring from Illinois. He dedicated substantial time beyond his courses at Illinois gaining a fuller understanding of Italy’s language, history and education system. Zipris’ interest originated from a routine course to fulfill a language requirement in his first year of college and evolved into taking yearly Italian courses at Illinois, enrolling in an immersive summer program at Middlebury College in Vermont and eventually studying abroad for a term at University of Pavia in the Lombardy region of Italy. Upon completing his Fulbright experience, the Highland Park High School alumnus intends to pursue a juris doctor degree with a concentration in international law, combining his legal expertise and knowledge of Italy to contribute to the diplomatic relationship between Italy and the United States.