Scholarships & Fellowships

Brianna Natale '16 was awarded a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program Study/Research Grant to the Netherlands. At Le Moyne, Brianna was a Presidential Scholar and an Integral Honors student double majoring in psychology and biology, with a concentration in neurobiology and a minor in chemistry. She worked on the application with the College's Fulbright Program Advisor Deborah Cromley, Ph.D., professor of practice in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

“I’m beyond thrilled to be the recipient of a Fulbright grant!" said Brianna. "Since my freshman year, when I first heard about the Fulbright Program, I’ve been waiting to apply for this opportunity, so it’s still very surreal to me that, over three years later, I have been awarded a Fulbright. I can’t emphasize enough how immensely grateful I am to have had the support of family, friends, and Le Moyne faculty, especially Dr. Cromley, throughout the application process. I’m so excited and honored to have the opportunity to live in the Netherlands to pursue my Master’s degree and to conduct research in a field I am extremely passionate about as a Fulbright recipient.”

"We are so proud of Brianna for this amazing accomplishment," said Le Moyne President Linda LeMura. "The Fulbright is a life-changing experience that is awarded to the best and brightest college students in the nation. Beyond the remarkable research opportunity, Fulbright scholars also share with and learn from cultures around the world. I'm confident that Brianna will make the most of this remarkable experience and represent Le Moyne well in all that she does." She also praised the work done by Dr. Cromley (herself a Fulbright recipient as an undergraduate student) for her role in Brianna's successful application.

In the Netherlands, Brianna will enter a Behavioral Science Research Master’s degree program at Radboud University in Nijmegen. She plans to conduct research in the Developmental Psychobiology Lab, contributing to the Basale Invloeden op de Baby Ontwikkeling (Basal Influences on the Baby’s Development) project, a longitudinal study of how environmental factors on a mother’s health during pregnancy can affect the development of her child’s physical and psychological health. Brianna’s long-term goal is to research the generational effects of stressful prenatal environments on children’s psychological development, in order to expand our current understanding of the biopsychological factors that can affect mental health, which Brianna hopes will contribute eventually to better treatment and prevention strategies for mental illness worldwide.

For Colleen Fagan ’15, Le Moyne College’s first-ever recipient of the prestigious Boren Scholarship, the adventure started even before she left the United States.

In April 2015, she learned that she was one of only 171 students (out of 750 applicants) accepted into the program. Originally assigned to the nation of Nepal, her plans changed following the devastating earthquake that struck the nation on April 25, killing nearly 10,000 people.

Ultimately she was assigned to India, and she left for the country in early September. For the fall semester, Fagan was located at the American Institute of Indian Studies in Jaipur, taking intensive Hindi language classes. In the spring, she will participate in a study abroad program through the School for International Training in the capital of New Delhi, studying Hindi, taking public health policy courses, and doing independent public health research.

“Jaipur is a wonderful city and there are many monuments and forts around,” said Fagan soon after arriving in India. “It is called the 'Pink City' due to the many pink-colored buildings and it's a beautiful place. Life in India is relatively different than in the U.S. and it has been more of an adjustment period than I expected, but it is fascinating and I am quite enjoying it.”

The Institute of International Education, on behalf of the National Security Education Program, awards Boren Scholarships to undergraduate students from across the U.S. The program provides opportunities to study less commonly taught languages in critical regions that are typically underrepresented in study abroad programs. Those selected will live in 40 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. 

Following her nine-month experience in India, Fagan will return to the U.S. and work for the Federal government in a yet-to-be-determined department (possibly the State, Defense, Homeland Security, or Intelligence offices). In exchange for funding a scholarship valued at $22,000, Boren recipients agree to work in the federal government for at least one year.

Service was a vital component of Fagan’s experience while an undergraduate at Le Moyne, and one of the reasons she was interested in pursuing a Boren Scholarship.

“I have worked to incorporate the Jesuit values such as serving and caring for others into my daily life through alternative break service trips to New Orleans, the Commonwealth of Dominica, and Ecuador, and I am fortunate to continue this in India,” Fagan said. “I am grateful to Le Moyne for helping to prepare me for this experience abroad. Even if I didn’t realize it at the time, I’ve come here with an open mind, lots of flexibility, and a love for understanding other people and cultures ... I hope this is the beginning of a long career giving back and serving others on a worldwide level.”

Despite the fact that her assignment changed, Fagan is hopeful that she will be able to travel to Nepal and volunteer at some point. She urges others to “continue to keep the earthquake victims of Nepal in your thoughts and prayers as they are still working through the aftermath of the disaster.”

“This is an incredible accomplishment for Colleen and is symbolic of the caliber of students at Le Moyne,” said President Linda LeMura. “Beyond the overall experience she will gain from the scholarship, Colleen will also provide vital service work, one of the hallmarks of a Jesuit education.”

Ph.D. student, McGill University

The process of applying to the Gates Cambridge Scholarship is in fact a rewarding exercise in and of itself, regardless of the application’s success. For me, the Gates deadline came a few weeks before that of American graduate programs, and getting feedback from Dr. Costello-Sullivan on my research proposal, both its form and its content, was instrumental to restructuring and ameliorating my graduate applications.

The application process is an occasion to practice applying to fellowships, research grants, and –perhaps most pertinent for college seniors—graduate schools. I gained the chance to closely work with a dedicated faculty member as I practiced writing and submitting a research proposal—something that can’t be learned soon enough. Winning the award is, of course, an exhilarating prospect in itself, but the process is also an academic exercise that contributes to the formation of an invaluable skill.