Gary ’26 Earns Fulbright Scholarship

Makenna Morrison Gary ’26 has earned a 2026–27 Fulbright Scholarship to participate in the U.S. government’s premier international educational exchange program, joining Rollins’ storied history of Fulbright Students that spans seven decades.

The biology and environmental studies double major won a selective Fulbright Study/Research Award to pursue a master’s in biodiversity at National Taiwan University (NTU), where she also received NTU’s highest scholarship available to international students. This award allows students to design a proposal for an academic or research project in a specific country—a process that led Gary to develop an extensive proposal focused on environmental contamination in Taiwan through water sampling and fish-based ecosystem research.

At Rollins, Gary turned her love of wildlife into a mission-driven education rooted in research, advocacy, and hands-on learning. Guided by deep partnerships with professors, she spent countless hours in the lab and in the field—from tagging and monitoring freshwater turtles across Florida and the Dominican Republic to researching frog movement to inform conservation management. The Alfond Scholar also engaged policymakers and scientists in D.C. as an environmental leadership fellow and interned with the Environmental Protection Division of the Orange County Government.

When it came time to combine her scientific curiosity, research experience, and passion for cultural exchange, the Fulbright felt like a natural fit.

“The Fulbright is a cultural exchange fellowship, not just an academic opportunity,” shares Gary, “and that’s exciting because I love learning from different communities. I’ve always been really eager to travel and have pursued a lot of opportunities at Rollins through field studies, so the Fulbright program was very appealing to me.”

She first learned about the Fulbright as a first-year student, recognizing it as a prestigious opportunity and knowing Rollins’ strong track record of producing Fulbright Students. The program became a more tangible goal during her second and third years through direct mentorship from art history professor Kim Dennis, who serves as director of the Office of External Fellowships & Scholarships.

“I moved all the way across the country from Seattle to attend Rollins, and I didn’t know anybody here, but I quickly found such an incredible, supportive community,” says Gary. “The sense of community, genuine care, and individualized support at Rollins were evident from day one. Everybody is eager to open doors—whether it’s helping land summer fellowships, nail grad school applications, find funding, or build connections that will last well beyond Rollins.”

The Taiwan opportunity aligned with her growing interest in East Asia, which included serving as a peer mentor for a course on ancient Chinese wisdom.

“The master’s in biodiversity at National Taiwan University is this amazing interdisciplinary program with students from all over the world working on creating solutions,” says Gary. “I want the international perspective because I believe that’s a crucial piece to solving biodiversity loss globally.”

From Rollins’ interdisciplinary environmental studies program to hands-on research in the Dominican Republic, where she navigated a new culture, language, and sweltering conditions, Gary is no stranger to pushing her limits.

“I think having opportunities like that at Rollins has definitely prepared me for the Fulbright,” she says. “I know I can jump into another country, another culture, and rise to the challenge,” she shares.

Gary credited the mentorship she found at Rollins—especially from Dennis—as one of the most important factors in preparing her for the Fulbright opportunity. Dennis met with Gary on an ongoing basis, helping her identify the program that best aligned with her goals and guiding her through an accelerated fall-semester application process that included Fulbright committee preparation and a Fulbright “boot camp” course.

Gary assembled a cross-disciplinary Fulbright committee of faculty mentors from Asian studies, biology, and environmental studies who had supported her throughout her time at Rollins. Faculty in the Asian studies department went even further, creating a personalized independent study in Mandarin with weekly one-on-one instruction and supplemental coursework to help her build foundational language skills for Taiwan—an experience Gary described as a reflection of the faculty’s exceptional dedication.

“I’ve never heard of another school doing that, and I think that's just an example of how thoughtful and caring the faculty are here.”

As she looks ahead to what’s next, Gary carries with her the research experience, resilience, and mentorship that have shaped her Rollins journey. The Fulbright is not only an extension of her work as a scientist and conservation advocate, but also a reflection of the global curiosity and community-minded purpose that have defined her time at Rollins.