Two Lafayette College juniors received one of the most prestigious STEM awards in the United States. Both abroad, one student found out 9,000 miles away from campus in New Zealand, while the other learned 7,000 miles away in Bhutan.
The two Barry Goldwater Scholarship recipients — Maggie Pearce ‘27 and Clara Witmer ‘27 — are among multiple recent spring research awardees; the others are three Fulbright grantees, who were notified of the award in May.
Goldwater scholarships
The Goldwater scholarship recognizes undergraduates pursuing research careers in STEM-related fields.
“It obviously supports my education as it’s also a financial scholarship, and so that’s really exciting,” Pearce said. “It mainly shows my dedication and potential for a career in research and in science.”
Pearce, who has been researching volcanic systems under geology professor Tamara Carley, said that she hopes to continue research in the same field of study at the graduate level.
“I think that I would like to be a professor, so then I would be able to continue to teach at the university level as well as conduct research on this sort of thing,” Pearce said.
Witmer, meanwhile, researches under biology professor Casey Schmidt, studying how a specific protein in fruit flies regulates histone genes, which assist in gene regulation and DNA replication.
“I now will be able to create a line of cells that I can study this one protein in,” said Witmer. “It really sets me up for a bunch of follow-up experiments.”
Witmer hopes her continuing research will culminate in her senior thesis; after graduation, she plans to apply for a combined MD and PhD program on the way to becoming a physician scientist.
The Goldwater program awarded 454 scholarships for the 2026-27 academic year. Combined with continued support for 59 students from last year’s awardee pool, the figure marks the highest number of students the program has ever supported in a single year, according to the program’s website.
Fulbright grants
Fulbright grants are prestigious awards funded by the United States government, allowing students and young professionals to pursue research or teaching positions abroad.
Roman Conca ‘26, an integrative engineering major, is one of three confirmed Fulbright grantees this year, receiving a combined research and English teaching assistantship grant in Austria.
As part of his award, Conca will teach English at a local elementary or middle school. The rest of his time will be dedicated to independent research, although Conca said that he is “still in the process of trying to connect with a research institution.”
“My research focuses on learning more about sustainability and sustainable infrastructure in Europe and Austria,” Conca said, noting an interest in “how it became such an integrated part of their everyday life and culture.”
While Fulbright scholars are encouraged to begin working on their applications months in advance, Conca said that he did not begin the process until mere days before, after being encouraged to do so by Mikael Berggren, a visiting assistant professor in the German department.
“That was probably one of the busiest 10 days I’ve ever had,” Conca said.
Skye Loures ‘24 received her second Fulbright grant, according to Associate Dean of Advising and Co-Curricular Programs Julia Goldberg; Loures previously won the award in 2024.
Goldberg added that an “anonymous student” received a Fulbright grant, and Melanie Coates ‘26 is a Fulbright alternate who would teach English in Germany if selected.
Andreas Pelekis ’26 contributed reporting.
Disclaimer: Editor Clara Witmer ’27 did not contribute writing or reporting.