From a Beinecke Scholar, to a Churchill Scholar, to 36 Gilman Scholars and 10 Fulbright Scholars, the class of 2026 has 72 students who have received international awards, scholarships and fellowships.
Throughout the process of applications, Notre Dame’s Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, known as CUSE, has worked with students to help them with their scholarly discernment and advise them on opportunities for growth and funding.
“The class of 2026 cohort has greatly impressed me and every other fellowship advisor in my office. Between themselves, they have managed at least one recipient for nearly every major award, and even those who did not win, possessed such an incredible drive that working with them made me feel hopeful for the future,” Elise Rudt-Moorthy, associate director of national fellowships, wrote in a statement to The Observer.
Alex Young
One recipient is Alex Young, a senior who was named as a Truman Scholar in 2025.
The Truman Scholarship is awarded to juniors who plan to pursue a graduate degree and have shown strong public service leadership.
Young said that he initially chose to apply after being recommended to do so by a previous recipient.
“I decided to apply because of the resources and network the Truman Foundation provides for aspiring public servants. I want to serve as a leader in my home state, and I believe the Truman Scholarship will help me achieve academically but also make connections with current and future leaders that will be valuable to Kentucky in the future,” Young wrote in a statement to The Observer.
He described the application process as “intense.” Young said his essays reflected on his experiences and his aspiration for a career in public service.
In his application, he detailed his leadership in a nine-year-long effort to end corporal punishment in schools in Kentucky, working with state legislators to achieve change and testifying in the Kentucky General Assembly. He also described his leadership in Notre Dame’s Student Policy Network and the College Democrats of Notre Dame.
For two years after graduation, Young will work in local government as deputy chief of staff in the mayor’s office of Louisville, Ky., before attending Harvard Law School in 2028. He said receiving the Truman Scholarship was helpful in his law school applications.
Young majors in political science with minors in public service and constitutional studies.
“I am so grateful for all of the opportunities I have had at Notre Dame, and I am inspired by our classmates who seek to use policy and political service as a force for good in our world,” Young wrote.
Janet Federici
Janet Federici is the recipient of the Boren Scholarship in Japan and the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award in South Korea, one of only six members of the class of 2026 who received more than one nationally competitive award.
Federici was encouraged to apply to both programs by CUSE.
Knowing she wanted to go abroad, Federici chose to apply to scholarships that would allow her to live in another country for an extended period of time after graduation with the hope of improving her language skills. She hopes to work in public service as a translator.
Federici believes her major in Japanese and minor in linguistics contributed to her selection for the Boren Scholarship.
She is declining the Boren Scholarship, however, to accept her position as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to teach English in South Korea.
Emmanuel Uzobuife
Emmanuel Uzobuife is the recipient of a Marshall Scholarship, a program designed to allow Americans to study in the United Kingdom for one to three years, fully funded.
Using his scholarship, Uzobuife will pursue a Master of Science in pharmacology and toxicology and a Master of Science in drug delivery with artificial intelligence at the University of Liverpool before attending medical school. As a physician he says he hopes to treat and advocate for people suffering with substance use disorder and work to ameliorate the opioid epidemic.
Uzobuife initially learned about the scholarship during his sophomore year and applied to this and several other fellowships that would pay for graduate education and provide opportunities to explore his interests.
He noted that CUSE was very supportive in working with him on every application and making sure each application showed his efforts. Uzobuife believes his application stood out because of his “cohesive narrative” and his explanation of how he would use the scholarship to make a positive impact.
The full list of award winners, as reported by CUSE
