Three of FIU's Fulbright scholarship recipients 2024-2025 and 2025-2026

FIU alumni make a difference abroad as Fulbright awardees

June 17, 2025 at 2:00pm

Fulbright logo FIU graduates Susana Fuertes, Nelson Abarca and Chirine Yamout are recent Fulbright U.S. Student Program awardees. ("Students" must have earned a bachelor's degree by the time of their travel.) They received prestigious scholarships to teach and/or conduct research in Bahrain, Spain and Taiwan. Fully funded by the U.S. Department of State, each boldly pursues academic and professional goals and serves as a cultural ambassador.

Interested in learning about how you can apply for a Fulbright U.S. Student scholarship to conduct research, study and/or teach abroad? For general program information, visit US Fulbright Program. Follow @fiuprestigious on Instagram or for further guidance, emailprestigious@fiu.edu.

Susana Fuertes, Bahrain (2023-2024 and 2024-2025)
A young entrepreneur herself, Susana Fuertes '22, MS '23 set out in 2023-2024 thinking that her research and connecting with other diverse entrepreneurs would be the lesson of a lifetime. Little did she know that the Fulbright administration would be so impressed by her efforts that she would be invited to return to the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2024-2025, fully funded, to continue her work on promoting entrepreneurship among women and producing a podcast series.

ForwardPreneurs is the podcast Fuertes started during her first Fulbright year in Bahrain and expanded significantly in the second. Each podcast episode embarks on an inspiring journey with a trailblazing entrepreneur, forward thinker and expert in the industry. It’s a way to dive into the real stories behind the hustle and feature courageous people who turned obstacles into opportunities. "ForwardPreneurs is more than a podcast,” Fuertes explains. “It's a community and free resource aimed at building connections and demonstrating that anyone with a vision and grit – no matter how soft-spoken or new to entrepreneurship – can succeed.” To join the movement, check out ForwardPreneurs on LinkedIn or Instagram @forwardpreneurs.

Nelson Abarca, Spain (2025-26)
Nelson Abarca '21 will head to Madrid to conduct research at Cien Fundacion from September 2025 to June 2026 on a Fulbright Open Study/Research Award. Since graduating from FIU, Abarca moved to Boston to work as a neurology research technician at the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute under the mentorship of a pioneer in the field of Alzheimer's research. “This experience has taught me a lot about neuroscience research,”Abarca said. Outside of the laboratory, he volunteers at the hospital as well as with a public transportation advocacy group.

Nelson while traveling in Europe in front of Saint Gatien Cathedral Tours, France Originally from El Salvador, Abarca and his family went in 2023 on a family vacation to Europe, including to Madrid, an experience that cemented his determination to pursue a Fulbright award to combine two passions: immersing himself in a different culture while collaborating with peers on solving the vexing mystery of neuro-degenerative diseases. His mentor at the MGH Research Institute encouraged him to propose to Fulbright a research project at Cien Fundacion that would allow him to be involved in both, basic science as well as clinical research. Abarca intends to make the most of his time in Madrid before entering medical school in the United States. He’s interested in specializing in neurology or emergency medicine.

Chirine Yamout, Taiwan (2025-26)
Chirine Yamout M.A. '25, will spend the 2025-2026 year in Taiwan as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. A native Arabic speaker from Lebanon, she remembers all too well her struggles with learning English. Fascinated by how language skills open many doors, she is now fluent in Arabic, English, Mandarin, French and Spanish. Promoting language learning is her passion: Yamout has helped students with learning disabilities at Henry M. Flagler Elementary School to read. Currently, she is an academic coordinator with FIU’s Global First Year program.

Chirine sends Panther Pride all the way from the Great Wall of China “I’m immensely grateful to the Phi Theta Kappa International Honors Society Envision program through which I fell in love with Chinese history, the complexities of Sino-American trade, relations with the U.S., and more,” Yamout says and states that the honors society “also alerted me to the multitude of scholarships in support of language learning and teaching.” Twice she earned the prestigious Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to Taiwan, an intensive overseas language and cultural immersion program for American college students. In 2021 (online) and 2022 (in person) Yamout spent eight weeks at the American Institute in Taiwan studying Mandarin, a language she once thought to be too hard to master. Once a biology-major, Yamout recognized her affinity for people-to-people interactions and diplomacy.

In addition, the following two students received Fulbright Student Scholarships:
April Coffie, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Taiwan, 2025-2026
Joseph Rosales, Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Honduras, 2025-2026

Ashley Floyd Kuntz, director of Prestigious Scholar Development and Fulbright program advisor, together with a small committee, has advised the students on their journeys to receiving scholarships. “These students prepared competitive proposals that made them stand out among thousands of applicants across the nation,” Kuntz says. “I’m extremely proud of their determination and the impact their respective research and teaching will have on their respective host community as well as here at home.”