Five UW Students Named Fulbright Semifinalists in U.S. Student Scholarship Program

Five University of Wyoming students and alumni have been chosen as semifinalists for the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Scholarship Program.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

Participating governments, host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the U.S. also provide direct and indirect support. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 140 countries worldwide, and awards are highly competitive. 

Fulbright offers two student awards: the English Teaching Assistant Award, which allows students to work as assistants to English teachers across the globe, and the Open Study/Research Award, which allows students to pursue graduate study or independent research at international institutions. Applicants must have completed a bachelor’s degree but not yet completed a doctorate degree.

The five semifinalists, listed by hometown, are:

Cheyenne -- Andrew Bishop, a fall 2025 UW graduate, earned a Bachelor of Arts in international studies and a Bachelor of Science in environmental systems science with a certificate in geographic information science. As an undergraduate student, he studied abroad in Morocco and completed research in Mauritania. He also studies Arabic. Bishop’s Fulbright project proposal focuses on how sustainable rural tourism can be used to safeguard historic sites and landscapes (kasbahs) in Morocco. He is a semifinalist for the Open Study/Research Award in Morocco.

“I am incredibly grateful to move forward in Fulbright’s application process and want to thank all of my mentors and UW for helping me get to this point,” Bishop says. “The hard work put in thus far makes me very excited for the potential to study, research and connect with Morocco, and I humbly look forward to the prospect of serving as an ambassador for my local community, Wyoming and my country.”

Cheyenne -- Lily Leman is a UW senior majoring in history and Spanish. She also is earning minors in interdisciplinary pre-law and honors. She studied abroad in Chile; participated in a Service, Leadership and Community Engagement Office service-learning program in Bolivia; and currently serves as a University Studies Abroad Consortium student ambassador and UW Education Abroad employee. She is a semifinalist for the English Teaching Assistant Award in Taiwan.

“I am extremely grateful to be recommended as a Fulbright semifinalist. Deeply inspired by my mom, an elementary educator of more than 20 years, I have witnessed, firsthand, the way education transforms the lives of individual students,” Leman says. “Reflecting on this application process has been formative for me by clarifying my commitment to public service and strengthening my desire for cultural exchange.”

Lead, S.D. -- Hilary White graduated from UW with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art and earned a certificate in editing from the University of Washington. As an artist and writer, White hopes to reconnect with her Czech heritage by teaching, making art, sharing stories with others and acting as a creative cultural ambassador. She is a semifinalist for the English Teaching Assistant Award in the Czech Republic.

“I was drawn to Fulbright because it aligns with my mission as a storyteller -- to promote understanding and empathy through shared narratives. As someone with substantial Czech heritage, I have always admired Czech resilience and the country’s reverence for the arts,” White says. “Whether visual, theatrical or musical, the arts transcend language and borders. If selected, I hope to share my passion for English with students, study the Czech language, soak up the culture and stay busy with theater, art and literary projects within my host community.”

Mahopac, N.Y. -- Michael DeNobile is pursuing a Doctor of Education in curriculum and instruction from UW. He previously earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in world religions and a Master of Science in urban and multicultural education from the University of Mt. St. Vincent; a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Manhattanville University; and an advanced certificate in education leadership and administration from The College of Saint Rose.

DeNobile proposes to research and draft a historical fiction duology set in Sicily. Drawing from his Sicilian heritage, the project explores memory, migration, identity and the enduring relationship between Sicily and the Italian American diaspora. Through immersive cultural study, he seeks to examine how families make choices shaped by history and how those choices echo across generations. He is a semifinalist for the Open Study/Research Award in Creative Writing in Italy.

“The Fulbright process has forced me to think more deeply about why educating through story matters to me -- not just academically, but personally. It has made me more aware of my responsibility to history, to place, to culture and to the people whose stories I’m drawing from,” DeNobile says. “My goal for my Fulbright project is to immerse myself in Sicilian and Italian culture, so I can write honestly about the relationship between Sicily and the Italian American diaspora without romanticizing either side. I want to explore how families make choices they believe are right and how those choices echo across generations. At its core, the project is about memory, identity and what it means to belong to and love more than one place at once.”

Laramie -- Lena Newlin is pursuing a doctorate in public humanities from UW. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from UW and a Master of Public Health from Oregon State University. If selected, she will produce a collection of essays that tells the stories of Peruvian Nikkei (individuals of Japanese ancestry). Newlin, a Nikkei herself from the U.S., will explore her own ancestral heritage and that of others like her in Peru. She is a semifinalist for the Open Study/Research Award (creative writing) in Peru.

“I am honored to be named a semifinalist for Fulbright’s creative arts student researcher grant,” Newlin says. “I hope to have the opportunity to promote Fulbright’s mission of cultural exchange in Peru for my doctoral work, which focuses on the parallel and interconnected histories of Japanese Peruvians and Japanese Americans.”

These five UW students were selected from among thousands of applicants. UW has seen 43 recipients of the Fulbright Student Award since 1987.

“We are incredibly proud of these five students for reaching the semifinalist stage in such a competitive national program. The Fulbright process is rigorous and requires months of thoughtful writing, reflection and revision,” says Shelley Jewell, an adviser for UW’s Fulbright Program. “We worked closely with each applicant to shape compelling, authentic applications, and it was inspiring to see their growth throughout the process. In Education Abroad, we are committed to supporting students as they pursue opportunities that expand their horizons and know that these students serve as wonderful ambassadors for Wyoming. These semifinalists represent the very best of UW with their creativity, dedication and global spirit.” 

“We worked with all five semifinalists starting early in 2025, and they put in many hours of writing, writing and more writing to craft competitive applications,” says Diane Thompson, another UW Fulbright Program adviser. “Fulbright is about sending the brightest and most positive students abroad to build international bridges and keep the spirit of cultural respect alive. Best of luck to all semifinalists!” 

Jewell and Thompson work for UW Education Abroad, which is part of the UW Global Engagement Office.

The Fulbright student application cycle is underway. The deadline to begin in the fall 2027 program is Sept. 1, 2026. UW students interested in applying, and UW faculty and staff who wish to serve on the application review committee should email Jewell at sjewell1@uwyo.edu or Thompson at twostep@uwyo.edu.