Three Students Granted Fulbrights for 2025–26 Award Cycle

| by Mikayla Parson

News Stories

Photo of Marion Ayer, Loraine Ruiz Vera, and Jake Lopata

Former MIIS students Marion Ayer, dual M.A. in International Policy and Development and Public Administration (May 2024), Loraine Ruiz Vera, M.A. in Teaching Foreign Language (December 2025), and Michael (Jake) Lopata, M.A. in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies (December 2025), have all been selected as finalists for Fulbright awards this grant cycle.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international academic exchange initiative sponsored by the United States government. Established in 1946, its goal is to foster global peace and prosperity through educational and cultural exchange, creating relations between people of the U.S. and other countries. Each year, through a competitive process, the Fulbright Program supports students in teaching, studying, and conducting research in over 160 countries across the globe.

The MIIS students were granted Fulbright awards for the following: 

  • Marion Ayer - Study/Research Award in Indonesia

  • Lorraine Ruiz Vera - English Teaching Assistant Award in Romania
  • Jake Lopata - Study/Research Award in Panama

Ayer’s research in Indonesia will examine how coastal communities are responding to intensifying flooding and rising sea levels. With millions living in low-lying coastal areas, communities are increasingly forced to make tough decisions about whether to adapt or relocate. His project centers primarily on areas such as Jakarta and the northern coast of Central Java, where some villages have already been submerged. Through interviews, focus groups, and surveys, Ayer aims to better understand how households navigate these challenges and what support systems are most effective for them. 

“I’m thrilled by the opportunity to engage with communities affected by intensifying coastal flooding in Indonesia to better understand how they experience and respond to these changes,” Ayer said. “I hope that insights gained from this research inform planning efforts and interventions that support community agency and reflect hyperlocal priorities in response to rising sea levels.”

I’m thrilled by the opportunity to engage with communities affected by intensifying coastal flooding in Indonesia to better understand how they experience and respond to these changes. I hope that insights gained from this research inform planning efforts and interventions that support community agency and reflect hyperlocal priorities in response to rising sea levels.

 
— Marion Ayer, Fulbright Grantee

Ruiz Vera will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Romania, where she plans to use language as a bridge for cultural exchange and mutual understanding. Drawing on her experiences as a language learner and educator, she intends to design inclusive teaching strategies that build on similarities between Romanian and Spanish, her native language, as Romance languages. Her work is also informed by the Sapir-Whorf theory, exploring how language shapes perception and reflects cultural values.  

“I believe language is a powerful bridge for understanding across cultures and a means of fostering empathy, curiosity, and connection,” Ruiz Vera said. Through her Fulbright experience, she hopes to both strengthen her teaching practice and contribute to students’ linguistic and intercultural development while sharing a nuanced view of the United States.

I believe language is a powerful bridge for understanding across cultures and a means of fostering empathy, curiosity, and connection.
— Lorraine Ruiz Vera, Fulbright Grantee

Lopata’s research in Panama will focus on foreign information manipulation and interference and its impact on governance and financial systems. His project examines how corruption-related narratives spread through media and communities, influencing public trust and enabling illicit economic activity. Over the course of his grant, Lopata will conduct fieldwork across multiple regions, combining ethnographic research with media and network analysis. He will also collaborate with the Centro Internacional de Estudios Políticos y Sociales to develop bilingual digital literacy workshops focused on strengthening resilience against foreign influence.

“The US Fulbright program provides me the opportunity to apply my past professional experience and the skills I’ve gained at MIIS on a pressing research topic relevant to the U.S. and Panama,” Lopata said. “I’m honored to be selected for this opportunity, and excited to partner with the Centro Internacional de Estudios Políticos y Sociales. Special thank you to those who inspired, encouraged, and enabled me to pursue this pathway.”   

The US Fulbright program provides me the opportunity to apply my past professional experience and the skills I’ve gained at MIIS on a pressing research topic relevant to the U.S. and Panama. I’m honored to be selected for this opportunity, and excited to partner with the Centro Internacional de Estudios Políticos y Sociales. Special thank you to those who inspired, encouraged, and enabled me to pursue this pathway.
— Jake Lopata, Fulbright Grantee

Current and former MIIS students are eligible to apply. The applications for the 2026-27 award cycle are now open. The national deadline is October 6, 2026, at 5 PM ET. To receive feedback on application materials ahead of the national deadline, please submit your application for review by our preliminary campus deadline of August 17 or our official campus deadline of September 8. 

For students considering applying, Ruiz Vera offered simple advice: “Don’t be the person who says no to themselves. Try!”

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For More Information

Middlebury Institute Fellowships Carolyn Meyer, Director of Experiential Learning 

Mikayla Parson, Fellowships Graduate Assistant institutefellowships@middlebury.edu