Class of 2026 members Caroline Battersby, Sophonisba Franecki, and Daniella Jacob have all been selected for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.
Battersby will participate in the U.S. Teaching Assistantship (USTA) Program in Austria. Franecki will teach English in Germany, and Jacob will teach English in Bulgaria through the English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Program.
In 2026, Bryn Mawr College was recognized as a top producer of student Fulbright recipients for the fourth consecutive year. Since 2004, over 50 Bryn Mawr students have been selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
More on the Fulbright recipients from the Class of 2026
Caroline Battersby
Majors: Literatures in English and German
Hometown: Orinda, CA
Battersby will be an English teaching assistant at two secondary schools in Graz, Austria.
"I’m most looking forward to gaining experience in the classroom," says Battersby. "My time at Bryn Mawr has prepared me well for this position. I was a German TA and a Writing Center tutor and I’m very excited to have the chance to apply the skills I gained here in a new context with a different age group and a different language. I’m also looking forward to learning more about Austrian culture and especially being exposed to new dialects."
Following her year as a USTA, Battersby plans to pursue a master's in English: Literature, Culture and Theory at the University of Sussex in the UK.
Sophonisba Franecki
Majors: Comparative Literature and Geology
Hometown: Glendale, WI
Franecki has been assigned to Saxony but won't receive a school assignment until June. In addition to teaching, she hopes to work on a translation of Michael Roes' novel Zeithain and find a publisher for her translation of Herr Moses in Berlin, which she completed last year for her comparative literature thesis.
"While I have previously studied abroad in Germany and interned for Exilarte centrum in Austria in high school, this time, I am especially looking forward to improving my pedagogy and traveling around the federal states," says Franecki. "If I am not posted to Leipzig, I hope to make a pilgrimage there; Leipzig was the academic seat of my favorite composer Felix Mendelssohn, who was conductor for the Gewandhaus from 1845-1847."
After her Fulbright, Franecki will pursue a Ph.D. in German at Columbia University and build toward an academic career as a scholar-translator of literature.
Daniella Jacob
Major: Religion at Haverford
Minor: Anthropology
Hometown: Houston, TX
Jacob has been placed in a small town named Samokov at the vocational school for hospitality and tourism.
"My students will primarily be of Roma descent, a minority ethnic group that has had a history of explicit marginalization across Europe," says Jacob. "Roma students have a particularly low level of English proficiency and have been limited in the professions they can enter, one of which is the hospitality and tourism industry. I'm excited to help equip students for a broader vision for their future."
After her Fulbright, Jacob will begin her Ph.D. in religious studies at the University of Virginia in Fall 2027.
Want to learn more about the Fulbright?
Each year, Bryn Mawr students apply for numerous prestigious national scholarships and fellowships with great success. These fellowships may provide funding for the last years of undergraduate education, for graduate education both in the United States and abroad, or even for travel and independent research not tied to an academic institution.