Two University Graduates Win Fulbright Awards

University of Scranton class of 2023 graduate Elise Westhafer, Reinholds, and class of 2022 graduate Isaiah Livelsberger, Hanover, have been awarded 2023-2024 Fulbright Student Scholarships, the premier international academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. Competitive, merit-based scholarships allow recipients to spend a year conducting research or teaching abroad.

Westhafer received a Fulbright Award to Slovenia where she will conduct research focusing on neurotransmitters in the aging brain at the University of Ljubljana. Livelsberger, received a Fulbright Award to Guatemala where he will study judicial reform in Guatemala by carrying out research at the Rafael Landívar University and at the Association for Research and Social Studies in Guatemala City.

“The Fulbright awards will give both exceptional graduates the ability to pursue research they are passionate about with world-class experts in their fields,” said Kara Kofira Bishop, University of Scranton Fulbright Program adviser. “An ardent researcher, Elise will work with Dr. Nina Vardjan, a member of the medical faculty at the Institute of Pathophysiology at the University of Ljubljana, to study brain metabolism and neuronal function to gain a better understanding of age-related decline. Zealous in pursuit of social justice, Isaiah will work with Professor Byron Morales of the Jesuit-run Rafael Landívar University, and Pablo Hurtado of the Association for Research and Social Studies to analyze how judicial institutions in Guatemala were impacted by the recently-retired International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala.”

According to Bishop, the Fulbright program awards grants based on the recipients’ records of academic achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. This year’s awards continue Scranton’s decades of success with the Fulbright program.  Since 1972, a total of 129 University students have been awarded Fulbrights.

Elise Westhafer

Fulbright Award recipient Elise Westhafer is tremendously enthusiastic and skillfully strategic in her pursuit of finding ways to restore cognitive functions of the brain. Her plan builds a step-by-step guide to enable understanding of the causes and function of the brain in decline in order to achieve her ultimate goal of being able to reverse the process.

Westhafer graduated, summa cum laude, from The University of Scranton in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a minor in philosophy. As a student, she developed research protocols and wrote successful grant proposals to fund a project with a new animal model at Scranton – the axolotl, an aquatic salamander, which she used to study regeneration of the central nervous system with her faculty mentor Robert Waldeck, Ph.D., associate professor of biology and director of Scranton’s Neuroscience Program. She was awarded multiple Neuroscience Student Research awards at Scranton and continued to hone her skills as a researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the summer of 2021.

At Scranton, Westhafer was a member of Nu Rho Psi, Phi Sigma Tau and Sigma Xi honor societies. She was also a member of the Society of Bioethics and the Neuroscience Society, where she held the office of treasurer during her senior year. She served as a tutor for the University’s Center for Teaching and Learning excellence for courses in general and organic chemistry, physics and calculus. She was also a member of PILLAR, an innovative new student-faculty partnership program at the University through which Westhafer worked with two faculty members to make diversity and inclusion changes in courses in real-time.

In addition to her high school studies, Westhafer leveraged the flexibility of being homeschooled to take college courses at Penn State Berks – and to travel.

“Instead of asking my parents for presents for my birthday, I asked for trips,” said Westhafer, and her parents gladly obliged. She visited historical parks throughout the United States, in addition to traveling to France, Italy, Ireland, Argentina and Costa Rica.

Westhafer is greatly looking forward to seeing Slovenia – and nearby countries in Europe – for the first time and continuing the next step of her research plan as a Fulbright Student Scholar.

When she returns to the United States, Westhafer will pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience under the Integrated Biomedical Science program at the University of Kentucky and plans to apply to its M.D./Ph.D. program.

Isaiah Livelsberger

The Jesuit ideal of accompaniment lives within Isaiah Livelsberger.

As his year of service at the Kino Border Initiative continues, he hears daily of atrocities endured by refugees seeking safety and a more dignified future. He sees first-hand the problematic conditions for migrants created by governments, corruption and cartels. He sees their strength, determination, dignity and hope. He sees children who have left what little they had behind to travel hundreds of miles for reasons they do not yet fully comprehend.

He also sees the smiles brought to children’s faces by serving them a simple meal, playing soccer, or just being with them.

It is those moments that keep Livelsberger going, and motivate him to dedicate his life to improving the plight of people living in – or fleeing from – hostile conditions.

“I know I can’t fix the system, but each day, I can help someone and learn from their strength. I can listen to their stories. I can offer some food. I can play with the children,” said Livelsberger who attends to the needs of the 120 migrants under his care daily. “It is a very difficult situation. Emotions run high. It’s humbling to be someone that they can confide in and to help create an environment where they feel comfortable.”

Livelsberger’s next step on his path will be as Fulbright Student Scholar as he tries to better understand the causes of the conditions in Central American countries, and the efficacy of possible solutions. He will focus on the effectiveness of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) in prosecuting those responsible for human rights abuses, and the current judicial system post-CICIG, which ended in 2019.

Through the Fulbright award, Livelsberger will work with Byron Morales, a professor in the Rafael Landívar University’s Department of Juridical and Political Sciences and Pablo Hurtado, who serves at the Association for Research and Social Studies, which specializes in the judicial and CICIG-related investigations. Livelsberger will use existing data, as well as new information gathered from interviews with individuals that he will conduct as part of the project.

Livelsberger was active with social justice causes during his time as a student at The University of Scranton. He founded the “We Care Awareness Campaign,” co-founded “Students Helping Others Create Kinship,” served as co-president for Helping Professional Residential Learning Community, and was vice president of the Social Justice Club. He was also a mentor for the Meg Cullen Brown SMART Mentoring Program, a Royal-Ties mentor to first-year students, an instructor for English as a Second Language (ESL), a member of the United Cultures Organization Club, and was a resident assistant. He was also a Search Retreat group leader and participated in two domestic service trips. He served as an assistant researcher in Expert Witness Testimony for Asylum Seekers, and researched as a high Impact Practice Grant Recipient.

Livelsberger graduated, summa cum laude, from Scranton in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in both international studies and philosophy and minor in Spanish and a concentration in Latin American studies. He received the University’s Excellence in International Studies Award at commencement and participated in the University’s undergraduate Honors Program. He served as the president of the Phi Sigma Tau Honor Society, and the secretary of the Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society. He was also a member of the Pi Alpha Theta and Pi Sigma Alpha honor societies. He was the recipient of the President’s Fellowship for Summer Research, first place winner of Phi Sigma Tau Philosophy paper contest, the winner of the Bonnie W. Oldham Library Research Prize and a Student Fellow at the Slattery Center for Ignatian Humanities. He also participated in the University’s Faculty Student Research Program.

Following his Fulbright year, Livelsberger will continue his social justice and advocacy work by pursuing either a law degree or a Ph.D.