Three Freeman students awarded 2025-2026 Fulbright grants

Three A.B. Freeman School of Business students have been named 2025-2026 Fulbright grant recipients. 

Anna Hobbins (BSM/SLA ’25), Caroline Wright (BSM ’25) and Ronan McDonnell (BSM ’25) are among the twelve Tulanians to be honored with this year’s award. The graduates will be awarded grants through the highly competitive Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which enables recipients to study for a graduate degree, conduct an individually designed research project or participate in an English Teaching Assistant Program outside the United States.

Anna Hobbins, a business and international studies major, will complete her Fulbright in Ecuador, where she will serve as an English teaching assistant.  

“I spent a semester in Quito, Ecuador my junior year, and absolutely loved the gracious people, fantastic scenery, food and culture,” Hobbins said. “While I was studying at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, I became interested in the region’s challenges with migration and organized crime, which I continued to investigate through independent study and internships back at Tulane.

“The opportunity to be an English Teaching Assistant with Fulbright gives me the chance to bring my connection to Ecuador, my experiences teaching cross-culturally, and my passion for immigration advocacy to the classroom,” she added. “I’m looking forward to exploring more of Ecuador and building the skills that will make me a compassionate and resilient immigration attorney in the future.”

In addition to being named a Fulbright fellow, Hobbins participated in the Altman Program in International Studies & Business, a special four-year dual-degree program that integrates business and liberal arts disciplines, extensive language instruction, and two study abroad experiences.

Caroline Wright, a marketing major with a minor in legal studies in business, will complete her Fulbright fellowship as an English teaching assistant in Spain. 

“I will be heading to the Canary Islands, where I look forward to sharing American culture with my students inside the classroom,” Wright said. “Using what I learned from my classes at Tulane, I plan to incorporate social emotional learning as a tool to help my students connect with each other in English.”

Ronan McDonnell, a legal studies in business major, will travel to Bulgaria to serve as an English teaching assistant and debate coach. 

“Service is a core part of who I am,” McDonnell said. “As a Fulbright scholar, I’ll work in the Yordan Radichkov School of Foreign Language in Vidin, Bulgaria. While there, I intend to start my own foundation in Bulgaria to serve underprivileged youth in Northwestern Bulgaria, which is the poorest and most economically depressed region in all of Europe.”

Since its inception in 1946, Fulbright programs have operated in more than 160 countries and provided more than 400,000 students and scholars the opportunity to exchange ideas and promote mutual understanding among global communities. For the third consecutive year, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has recognized Tulane University as one of the top producers of students selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.