Each year, Notre Dame students utilize the support of the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement (CUSE) to apply for and win prestigious fellowships and scholarships.
Elise Rudt-Moorthy, associate director of national fellowships for CUSE, shared that 49 seniors won prestigious fellowships during their time at Notre Dame this year. As of May 13, five seniors have received Fulbright awards, but others from the group of Notre Dame’s 31 semi-finalists are still waiting to hear whether they have been selected as finalists.
Emma Powers
Emma Powers, a biochemistry major with a data science minor from Bloomington, Minnesota, received three scholarships during her time at Notre Dame. The Lewis Hall resident was awarded the competitive Gates Cambridge, Gilman and Barry Goldwater scholarships while participating in the CUSE Sorin Scholars program, an application-based scholarly engagement program.
The Gates Cambridge scholarship offers 80 students from outside of the UK the opportunity to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Cambridge on a full-cost scholarship. Through the Gilman Scholarship, the U.S. Department of State awards recipients scholarships to intern or study abroad. The Barry Goldwater scholarship, endowed by the Department of Defense, awards scholarships to students pursuing research in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.
“Coming into Notre Dame, I knew I was entering an elite academic university with the top students in the nation. I could never have expected to receive any of these nominations or scholarships. My freshman year self would be in awe of where I am today,” Powers wrote in a statement to The Observer.
Powers expressed her gratitude for CUSE in supporting her in winning these scholarships, especially the support of advisor and assistant director of scholarly development for CUSE Emily Hunt.
She began working on breast cancer research under Laurie Littlepage, a Campbell family associate professor of cancer research, in the Mike and Josie Harper Cancer Research Institute beginning in the spring of her freshman year. She described the yearlong experience as solidifying her passion for and confidence in pursuing biomedical research and what provided her the foundation to compete for and receive her scholarships.
On campus, Powers spent four years as a student manager for Notre Dame’s volleyball team.
In the fall, Powers will attend the University of Cambridge to earn her Masters of Philosophy in Medical Sciences (Oncology) through the Gates Cambridge Scholarship before pursuing her Ph.D.
Kayle Lauck
Kayle Lauck, a political science major with minors in philosophy, politics and economics, along with education, schooling and society, earned a Harry S. Truman scholarship in 2024. She was also recognized as a 2024 Udall Undergraduate scholarship honorable mention and a 2025 Fulbright alternate. Originally from South Dakota, Lauck lived in McGlinn Hall.
Lauck expressed her gratitude for her CUSE advisors: Rudt-Moorthy for the Truman scholarship, Mathilda Nassar for the Udall and Hunt for the Fulbright scholarships.
Lauck shared she applied for the Truman scholarship, which recognizes students committed to public service careers, because it aligned with her goal to return to South Dakota to advocate for rural communities, tribal relations and sustainable agriculture.
The scholarship will help to support her graduate education, her current plan for which is to pursue a joint J.D. and doctorate in history with a focus in rural development as it pertains to Native American law and agricultural policy, she shared.
Lauck, a Kellogg Institute for International Studies International Scholar, worked with professor Debra Javeline to research resilience and recovery in international development during her time in the program.
Luack won the John Roos Award for best thesis in American politics for her work analyzing the role of interest groups in shaping rural development policy.
Lauck also co-founded the Agricultural Student Association (AgSAND) with Hannah Dahl, another student.
“We saw the need for a space where students could discuss agriculture and food systems and worked with the Student Activities Office for two years to establish this organization. Through AgSAND, I‘ve been able to moderate events discussing agriculture at COP28 and bring together students interested in sustainable food systems,” Kauck wrote in a statement to The Observer.
After she graduates, Lauck will teach writing at Maȟpíya Lúta Owayawa middle school on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota while she applies to graduate schools following her marriage to her high school sweetheart in June.
After graduate school, she plans to return to South Dakota to “help tribal members navigate federal and state agricultural programs and continue [her] work with the nonprofit I founded with my friend and classmate at ND, Johnny Blote, called South Dakota College Connections.”
Raleigh Kuipers
Raleigh Kuipers, a global affairs and Spanish major with minors in civil & human rights and European studies, earned the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service. Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Kuipers completed the Gateway Program at Holy Cross College before moving to Lewis Hall.
The Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service, created by the Obama family and Brian Chesky, the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, is a two-year leadership development and scholarship program which aims to empower 100 college students from across the United States to pursue careers in public service.
Recipients of the scholarship are provided an up to $50,000 scholarship in addition to career coaching, networking opportunities, mentorship and leadership training. Kuipers traveled to Chicago in the fall of 2023 for a weekend of workshops with the program’s second ever cohort, as well as the Obama Foundation’s Democracy Forum.
Through Voyager, the program’s initiative which provides recipients $10,000 and Airbnb credits to pursue an internship or self-designed experience during the summer before their senior year, Kuipers traveled to Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico to conduct research on feminist foreign policy in addition to improving her Spanish and Portuguese skills. This research informed her senior thesis, which she wrote, “explores the extent to which 11 feminist foreign policies engage with peace and security issues.”
Kuipers was also an International Scholar, working with Clemens Sedmak, professor of social ethics, to research topics including resilience in Ukraine during wartime, ethical dilemmas facing universities and the impact of Russia’s invasion on Ukrainian philosophy, work she described as “incredibly meaningful.” She was able to present her literature review on resilience in Ukrainian communities and institutions at a workshop in Kraków, Poland last winter. She noted that the community at Kellogg is incredible.
She also worked as a communications assistant at the Pulte Institute for Global Development, developing engagement and administrative skills while learning about development research and projects across the globe.
“Tragically, the Trump Administration’s gutting of USAID and the Department of State led to the cancellation of most of the Institute’s grants this spring. Research projects on improving children’s education in developing countries to reduce poverty and identifying root causes of migration in Latin America had to be abandoned. [Two-thirds] of the Institute’s staff had to be let go due to these funding cuts, including my boss,” Kuipers wrote. “However, this experience has only deepened my commitment to – and belief in the value of – international research and global development work.”
In the fall, Kuipers will start her Master of Advanced International Affairs at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna in Austria.
