Latest UIC Fulbright grantees prepare to embark

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Two UIC alums and a doctoral candidate have been chosen to represent UIC as Fulbright recipients, taking part in the U.S. State Department program, which fosters international educational exchanges and cross-cultural understanding.

In addition, a UIC doctoral student has been named an alternate for the Fulbright program. Since it launched in 1946, there have been nearly 450,000 Fulbright students and scholars who have conducted research and taught in over 160 countries. The Fulbright program is marking its 80th year in 2026.

Award recipients are selected based on leadership potential, academic and professional achievement and public service.

Craig Rykowski recently graduated with a political science degree. (Photo courtesy of Craig Rykowski)

Craig Rykowski graduated from UIC in May with a bachelor's degree in political science and minors in Chinese and public policy. He received the English Teaching Assistant Award and will spend a year teaching in Taichung, Taiwan. He also aims to learn as much as he can about Taiwanese culture while sharing American culture.

"As a baseball fan my entire life, I am especially looking forward to bonding with the Taiwanese over our shared love of baseball," said Rykowski.

Rykowski was a transfer student to UIC when he fell in love with Mandarin, which opened "countless doors" for him, he said. In the summer of 2024, he traveled to China, then in 2025, to Taiwan. He also served as a peer tutor and a teaching assistant for Chinese at UIC.

These experiences allowed him to see life from different perspectives, shaping his worldview, Rykowski said. He's still undecided about his long-term career plans, but teaching may be part of them, thanks to the Fulbright.

"Without UIC, I would not be where I am today, and I definitely would not have had the opportunity to travel abroad and eventually receive my Fulbright grant," said Rykowski.

Bert Geyer is pursuing his doctorate in art history at UIC. (Photo: Martin Hernandez/UIC)

Bert Geyer, who is working on his doctorate in art history in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts, will call the Philippines home for the upcoming academic year. Under his Fulbright Research Award, he will gather research for his dissertation, "The Forester's Sensorium: Perceiving the Forests of U.S. Empire, 1848-1942."

"I will be analyzing the network and projects of artists, architects and foresters across the late Spanish and American colonial periods," said Geyer.

The Philippines connection with the Fulbright program began 78 years ago. Geyer said he is looking forward to drawing on that rich history and expansive Fulbright community. He will be affiliated with the University of the Philippines Los Baños and the University of the Philippines Baguio.

In addition to increasing his proficiency with the Tagalog language and his academic research, Geyer plans to immerse himself in the Filippino culture and share that culture with students in the future.

"The extensive research and immersion of sustained residence in the Philippines will immeasurably enrich the dissertation's empirical scope and my own analytic acumen, allowing me to ultimately complete a dissertation in which I can be proud," he said. "Beyond the dissertation, I anticipate the Fulbright experience will be a deep fount from which I may draw for teaching, which I hope to pursue after the doctorate."

He credited UIC's Institute for the Humanities, where he served as a resident graduate scholar this past year, for its support as well as Ömür Harmanşah, director of the School of Art and Art History and his advisor.

Ciat Conlin received his master's degree from UIC in 2022. (Photo Courtesy of Ciat Conlin)

Ciat Conlin, the third Fulbright finalist this year, earned a master's degree in French and Francophone studies from UIC in 2022. He is headed to Piła, Poland, where he will teach English at Stanislaw Staszic State University of Applied Sciences.

He earned his undergraduate degree at the American University in Paris in 2018.

"I studied Central European and Polish literature on a fluke as an undergraduate, and this really sparked an interest in the area," said Conlin. "It ended up being the focus for my undergraduate thesis, and I always wanted to work more with this."

Conlin also has made several documentary films in Poland and Chicago.

"I'd love to continue engaging with this while a Fulbright recipient, to engage with the local film scene and continue working in this field upon my return," said Conlin.

Anneliese Hardman has been named a Fulbright alternate. (Photo courtesy of Anneliese Hardman)

Anneliese Hardman, a UIC doctoral candidate in the art history department, was selected as a Fulbright alternate for the Fulbright Research and Study Award in Cambodia. Hardman studies Southeast Asian art history and environmental humanities.

Her goal is to live in Cambodia to work on her dissertation, "Ecological Engagements with Contemporary Cambodian Art."

She would be based in three cities - Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang - which serve as contemporary art hubs in the country.

"I write about emerging, mid-career and established artists who address topics in Cambodia beyond temples and trauma," said Hardman.

All of the candidates thanked UIC Fulbright advisors Benn Williams, Lindsay Marshall and Kim Germain for their assistance with the application process.

The Fulbright application process at UIC is coordinated through designated advisors in the Office of External Fellowships and the Graduate College. Rising seniors, graduate students and alums who seek to apply for the 2027-28 year should contact UIC's Fulbright Program Advisors before fall semester, via the contact information page.