Each year, Gettysburg College students continue to represent the United States as Fulbright recipients, sharing the knowledge and skills they gained through our liberal arts and sciences education with new students all around the world.
Every year, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers competitive fellowships to support students across the nation who wish to pursue advanced studies, research, or teaching opportunities abroad. This year, seven Gettysburg students were named Fulbright semifinalists and three received prestigious grants to go abroad: Joe Accetta ’20 (Germany), Gracie Meisner ’25 (Germany), and Emily Suter ’25 (Austria).
Including this year’s cohort, Gettysburg College students have earned a total of 45 Fulbright grants, with six coming in the past two years. Accetta, Meisner, and Suter—all placing in German-speaking countries—represent a historical strength of Gettysburg students, as 13 recipients have traveled to Germany or Austria, including four in the last couple years.
Through their global experiences, these students will have the opportunity to employ the knowledge and enduring skills they gained at Gettysburg to grow personally and professionally and represent the United States in foreign countries.
“This year’s Fulbright applicants were an incredibly motivated, intelligent, and inspired bunch, and it was a great pleasure to mentor them through the application process,” said German Studies Prof. Tres Lambert, who oversees the Fulbright program on campus. “The competition this year was unprecedented in many ways, and all of our students—finalists, semifinalists, and applicants alike—should feel exceptionally proud of the applications that they submitted. These students are true ambassadors of our mission, and their successes reflect the positive response that an education from Gettysburg College receives on national and global stages.”
Partnering with 160 countries around the world, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the flagship international academic exchange program sponsored by the United States government. It offers experiences in all academic disciplines to graduating college seniors, graduate students, and young professionals through study and research grants as well as English Teaching Assistantships. Fulbright recipients live, work, and learn from natives of their host country, growing their intercultural fluency skills in the classroom and field of work, and go on to serve consequential roles in their careers as global citizens and leaders.
“Once again, students with strong backgrounds in international area studies and languages continue to lead the way when it comes to winning these kinds of grants,” added Lambert. “That underscores not only the value of a comprehensive liberal arts education, but also the unique strengths in international and global education that students can expect at Gettysburg College.”
This year’s honorees are:
Joe Accetta ’20
- Hometown: Cranston, Rhode Island
- Majors: German studies and history
- Fulbright Honor: Recipient of a Fulbright Teaching Assistant (ETA) award in Germany
Patrick Artur ’24
- Hometown: Lambertville, New Jersey
- Majors: History and Spanish
- Minor: French
- Fulbright Honor: Alternate for Fulbright Teaching Assistant (ETA) award in Cameroon
Kenzie McKowen ’23
- Hometown: New Berlin, Wisconsin
- Majors: Psychology and Spanish
- Fulbright Honor: Semifinalist for Fulbright Teaching Assistant (ETA) award in Mexico
Gracie Meisner ’25
- Hometown: Natick, Massachusetts
- Majors: German studies, public policy, and sociology
- Fulbright Honor: Recipient of a Fulbright Teaching Assistant (ETA) award in Germany
Vivek Rallabandi ’25
- Hometown: Edison, New Jersey
- Majors: History and religious studies
- Minor: Public history
- Fulbright Honor: Semifinalist for Fulbright-Nehru Open Study/Research award to India
Emily Suter ’25
- Hometown: Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Majors: German studies and history
- Minor: Political science
- Fulbright Honor: Recipient of a Fulbright Combined Grant for Teaching and Research in Austria
Joe Zimbler ’25
- Hometown: Nesconset, New York
- Majors: Global studies and political science
- Minors: French and Middle East and Islamic Studies
- Fulbright Honor: Semifinalist for Fulbright M.A. Degree award to Israel
For the 2025-2026 award cycle, semifinalists were notified in January and finalist notifications were released beginning in April 2025. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is currently accepting applications for the 2026-2027 award cycle until the national deadline of Oct. 7, 2025. Students or alumni interested in applying for a Fulbright grant through Gettysburg College should contact Prof. Tres Lambert at rlambert@gettysburg.edu.
About the Fulbright U.S. Student Program
The Fulbright Program was introduced by Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas and passed into law by President Harry Truman in 1946. Each year, about 8,000 students, teachers, and professors from the United States and 160 countries receive grant awards, which are grounded in the notion of promoting “mutual and cross-cultural understanding” after the conclusion of World War II. In all, since the program was established, more than 400,000 Fulbright recipients have pursued global studies, research, and teaching in 165 countries. Fulbright alumni have included 62 Nobel Prize recipients, 78 MacArthur Foundation Fellows, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 41 current or former heads of state or government.
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By Megan Miller
Posted: 08/29/25