Two Loyola seniors receive distinguished Fulbright Awards
Two members of Loyola’s Class of 2026—Joshua Player and Jason Rowe—were awarded prestigious Fulbright Awards to spend one year abroad engaged in professional advancement and cross-cultural dialogue. Player will spend the 2026-27 academic year conducting neuroscience research in Bergen, Norway, while Rowe will spend the 2026-27 academic year as an English teaching assistant in Taiwan.
“Our students’ Fulbright success points to the value of a Loyola education,” said Terre Ryan, Ph.D., Loyola’s director of national fellowships. “Joshua's work in Norway, which will help prepare him for his future career in neuroscience, will build directly on work he has been doing in biology professor Craig Myrum's lab. Jason, who studied Classics and English, will bring his considerable gifts in communication and mentoring to his new students in Taiwan, where he will gain skills to prepare him for his career in education and arts administration.”
“Loyola’s success in the Fulbright program is a testament to our talented students, who continue to live out the values of a Jesuit, liberal arts education long after graduation, and to our dedicated faculty, who prepare them for lives of meaning and service,” said Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president. “We are incredibly proud of Joshua and Jason and wish them luck as they represent Loyola abroad as Fulbrighters.”
Player, a native of Frederick, Maryland, will join the Synaptic Plasticity Research Lab at the Mohn Research Center for the Brain, a leading facility home to two Nobel laureates in neuroscience. His research will explore the complex dynamics between different estrogens and the neuroprotective protein ARC. The fully funded opportunity will offer him a platform to collaborate with world experts and advance critical understanding of brain health.
"I look forward to exploring new dimensions of my research using innovative tools available only at my host lab in Norway,” said Player. “Fulbright also provides a great opportunity to master advanced laboratory techniques while collaborating with leaders in neuroscience."
Player graduated from Loyola summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in biology, receiving the Carroll Biology Medal. He is also receiving his paramedic licensure from Baltimore City Community College. At Loyola, he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Beta Beta Beta Honors Societies. He was also a Haig Scholar and a 2025 Hauber Fellow.
“I’d like to thank Dr. Terre Ryan for the constant feedback and guidance during the application process,” said Player. “I would also like to thank Dr. Craig Myrum and the Natural and Applied Sciences for allowing me to kickstart my research here at Loyola as a Summer 2025 Hauber Fellow.”
A pre-med student, Player completed his studies at Loyola in three years instead of four. He hopes to pursue his M.D./Ph.D. in the field of neurology. Prior to his Fulbright residency, he will complete a summer internship through the University of Maryland Medical Center, which has placed him at a neuro medtech company, Neurava.
Rowe, a native of Maplewood, New Jersey, will be placed in a school in Taiwan to supplement local English language instruction and to provide a native speaker presence in the classrooms.
“I'm looking forward to using the teaching experience I've gained over the last four years for such an exciting and important opportunity,” he said. “I won't only be immersing myself with a new culture. I'll also be representing my own as I become many students' first in-person interaction with an American. While the travel component is the most exciting on the surface level, I'm really most excited for the type of work I'll be doing, and all the good I can bring about with it.”
Rowe recently completed a Civic Leaders Fellowship with the Reagan Institute. The hybrid, six-month leadership and professional development program is designed to elevate student success in civic and professional life. He was one of 25 fellows selected from a pool of 196 applicants and was Loyola’s first Civic Leaders Fellow.
An English and Classics major, Rowe graduated from Loyola summa cum laude. At Loyola, he served as an advancement intern, peer tutor, classics ambassador, and Center for the Humanities Research Fellow. He received the Reverend Daniel J. McGuire, S.J., Alumni Association Service Award and the P. Edward Kaltenbach Classics Medal. He was a member of the Honors Program and participated in the Greyhound Leadership Summit.
Following his Fulbright year, Rowe—who interned in the grants department of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities last summer—plans to pursue a career in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. He is particularly interested in the funding of the arts and humanities, including museums.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the United States government’s flagship program of international educational and cultural exchange, offers passionate and accomplished students and scholars in more than 140 countries the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations. These talented Fulbrighters from all backgrounds inspire, innovate, and contribute to finding solutions to challenges facing our communities and our world.