Tiffney Aina: France 

Tiffney Aina’s path to a Fulbright scholarship began in her childhood home in Allen, Texas. There, her family hosted seven exchange visitors — including an au pair who taught Aina her first words in French — and many Nigerian relatives, all of whom shared stories across cultures and continents. 

That early immersion sparked a love of language and instilled a belief in the power of cultural exchange that Aina will carry with her this fall in France, where she will pursue a master’s degree in the mathematics, vision and learning program at Ecole Normale Superieure Paris-Saclay. 

Aina, a graduate of Brown’s Class of 2025 who concentrated in computer science and neuroscience, will conduct research that centers on advancing machine learning to improve diagnostics for neurological conditions to help make medicine more personalized, proactive and globally accessible.

“Over time, my passion for French, neuroscience and global health all began to converge,” Aina said. “Fulbright felt like the most natural path forward. It offered a space where I could connect these threads, not just intellectually but experientially.”

Those threads were spun in various classrooms at Brown, where Aina said she never felt pressured to stick to any predetermined academic route. 

“Brown shaped not just how I think, but why I think the way I do,” Aina said. “Brown taught me how to bridge disciplines, challenge assumptions and pursue ideas that don’t always fit neatly into categories.” 

In addition to combining two fields of study through the University’s Open Curriculum, Aina spent time out of the classroom working in suicide prevention, volunteering with refugee families and conducting research across the country — experiences that that inspired intellectual risk-taking and cultural fluidity, she said. 

Aina applied that to her undergraduate thesis, which focused on computational biophysical modeling of neural dynamics in Parkinson’s disease, shaped in part by her grandfather’s experience facing repeated misdiagnoses for Parkinson’s disease in Nigeria.

“The consequences of limited access to quality care are deeply personal for me,” she said. “I want to be the kind of physician-scientist who not only develops cutting-edge technologies, but also brings them to the patients who need them most.”

In France, Aina is eager to speak French daily, collaborate with researchers and explore the museums, cafés and corners of Paris. 

“Most of all, I’m excited to build connections with researchers, classmates and communities I volunteer with — and to let those relationships change me,” she said. 

When she returns to the U.S., Aina plans to enroll in an M.D. or M.D./Ph.D.  program. In her career, she hopes to build diagnostic tools that can be deployed in underserved regions, particularly Francophone communities, and promote equity in global health.

“Showing up with curiosity and care is a quiet form of diplomacy,” she said. “That’s the kind of American identity I hope to model.”

Michelle Alas Molina: Brazil 

For Michelle Alas Molina, a love of language, scholarship and civic engagement guided her academic path — now, they’re leading her back to Brazil.

Alas Molina, a graduate of Brown’s Class of 2025 who concentrated in international and public affairs and in Latin American and Caribbean studies, will travel to São Paulo this fall as a Fulbright Scholar to study participatory democracy and federal budgetary amendments at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas. 

She first visited Brazil in 2023 as a U.S. Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies fellow, pursuing intensive Portuguese language study. A second trip, supported by Brown, offered her the opportunity to engage in field research and data collection as part of her honors thesis on participatory budgeting, conducted under the mentorship of Professor of Sociology Patrick Heller and Professor of Education Pierre de Galbert. 

“What I discovered both times is that Brazil is an incredibly warm and welcoming country, and that Portuguese is a beautiful language,” she said. “I felt comfortable doing long bus trips for my research, and I felt at ease in local government and academic spaces.” 

Alas Molina quickly built a network of local officials, scholars and residents that she relied on for her research and her Fulbright application, she said. 

“I was enthused by the prospect of extending my undergraduate thesis to a concerted nine months in the field, with the support of the U.S. State Department,” she said. “I believe that sharing different approaches to democratic participation is an important part of cultural ambassadorship.”

Born in El Salvador, Alas Molina moved to the San Francisco Bay Area with her parents when she was 2 years old. She said her background informed her passion for immigration and education, while her studies helped build a solid academic focus on participatory budgeting and democratic institutions.

As an undergraduate, Alas Molina said she pursued every opportunity to study Latin American democracy. Her courseload included classes that spanned Latin American politics, from far-right movements and military dictatorships in Brazil to broader issues of economic development in the region. Under the guidance of former Brown education scholar Jonathan Collins and Professor Emeritus of Modern Latin American History and Portuguese and Brazilian Studies James Green, respectively, Alas Molina investigated participatory budgeting in public schools and the legacy of Brazil’s dictatorship — formative research that cemented her thesis and future aspirations. 

“My thesis and my subsequent research in Brazil is a synthesis of these two involvements,” she said. “The rise of the extreme right around the world has presented new challenges for participatory institutions, but it has also affirmed the importance of studying the conditions that enable their survival.”

While in São Paulo, Alas Molina looks forward to deepening her fluency in Portuguese and learning under the mentorship of preeminent Brazilian scholars. While her research may be rigorous, Alas Molina is making sure to leave room for joy and cultural celebration. “I am very excited to experience Carnaval there, too!” she said.

When Alas Molina returns to the U.S. in 2026, she plans to apply to law school, with the goal of pursuing a career as a public interest immigration attorney, keeping Latin America, its history and its people central to her practice.

The 2025-26 recent undergraduate alumni Fulbright Scholars are: 

• Tiffney Aina (France)
• Charles Alaimo (Taiwan)
• Michelle Alas Molina (Brazil)
• Robert Beveridge (Austria)
• Deborah Cherman (Czech Republic)
• Ethan Davis (United Kingdom)
• Chloe Sophia Fatsis (Greece)
• Gaayatri Godbole (South Korea)
• Naomi Gutierrez (Mexico)
• Bryce Jacobs (Chile)
• Amelia Jarell (Ecuador)
• Ian Joe (South Korea)
• Rachel Kamphaus (Belgium)
• Mia Kantorovich (Germany)
• Yungeun Kim (Netherlands)
• Samuel Levine (Mexico)
• Spencer Lorin (Spain)
• Mica Maltzman (Germany)
• Martin Menz (South Korea)
• Gayda Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)
• Jason Morris (France)
• Ryan Peng (Netherlands)
• Katherine Selbig (Vietnam)
• Neil Shah (Taiwan)
• Gabriel Steinbrenner (Germany)
• Pran Teelucksingh (India)
• Nhu Tran (Vietnam)
• Sherese Turner (United Kingdom)
• Champ Turner (Portugal)
• Natalie Wadhwa (Panama)

The 2025-26 recent graduate alumni Fulbright Scholars are: 

• Gina Ledor (South Korea)
• Brooke Ury (Germany)
• Rudy Utzschneider (Chile)
• Jocelyn Yang (Taiwan)

The 2025-26 graduate student Fulbright Scholars are: 

• Matthew Ballance (Bolivia and Argentina)
• Alyssa Bolster (Peru)