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Two 2025 Furman grads receive Fulbright awards
German studies and philosophy major Catherine Sikes ’25, pictured far right at a MayX program in June, received a Fulbright grant to be an English teaching assistant in Austria. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.
Two Furman University alumni received Fulbright awards to teach English in Austria this academic year.
Philosophy and German studies major Catherine Sikes ’25 and politics and international affairs and German studies major Li Ward ’25 are Furman’s most recent student Fulbright winners.
Furman has eight Fulbright applicants who are not German-studies majors waiting for news of their award status sometime in late Spring, said Scott Henderson, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Education and director of National and International Scholarships. Sikes and Ward mark 55 Furman students who have received a Fulbright grant.
Politics and international affairs and German studies major Li Ward ’25, a new Fulbright grantee, holds an American flag at a flag planting event on Milford Mall in 2023.
“My focus while teaching will be exploring different cultural perspectives of health and its impact on things like recreational drug use, alcoholism and other substance use disorders,” said Sikes.
Sikes, from Saint Cloud, Minnesota, said her journey to this award was guided by the insights of the German Studies and Philosophy departments. After studying German since middle school, it was Furman’s German professors who “brought new and exciting lessons” that developed Sikes’ language skills, she said. She was also grateful for the encouragement she received from Carmela Epright, professor of philosophy, and associate professor of philosophy David Gandolfo.
“It feels surreal. I had the opportunity to live in northern Austria for a year in high school, so it’s been a bit nostalgic ,” Sikes said.
Ward, from Beaufort, South Carolina, will work as a teaching assistant in the town of Baden bei Wien in Austria. Ward couldn’t be reached for comment before publication.
Furman was recently recognized as a “Fulbright Top Producing Institution” by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Prior to Sikes and Ward, Furman’s last Fulbright student was Alex Threlkeld ’24. Two Furman faculty members recently returned from time abroad as Fulbright scholars: Lori Alvin, the Henry Keith and Ellen Hard Townes Associate Professor of Mathematics and Roger Sneed, professor of religion.