Rice University’s Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies welcomed new and returning Fulbrighters and Opportunity Fund Scholars during the 2026 Fulbright@Rice welcome lunch, celebrating a growing global community that now includes 104 members from 36 countries.
The gathering brought together graduate students, visiting scholars, faculty and staff who are part of Fulbright@Rice, a campus community dedicated to cross-cultural exchange, academic excellence and international connection.
The lunch also came during a milestone year for the Fulbright Program, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2026. Since its inception in 1946, Fulbright scholarships have supported more than 400,000 academic and professional exchanges across 162 countries, advancing cultural understanding and international connections.
“We have a great group here today. We have a great group at Rice overall,” said Seiichi Matsuda, dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and faculty sponsor of Fulbright@Rice. “It’s important to us that you have a positive experience here at Rice. It’s important to us that your studies go very well and that you achieve all of your hopes and dreams, and that you move on to the next stage of your life in a happy and productive way.”
Matsuda encouraged students to use their time at Rice not only to grow academically, but also to build relationships beyond familiar cultural or regional circles.
“I hope that you’ll make a special effort to connect with people who are not from your region,” Matsuda said. “The whole point of coming here was to interact with people from other parts of the world and to learn from them.”
Fulbright@Rice is supported by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and coordinated by Jennifer Hunter, assistant dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Hunter said the community exists to support Fulbright and Opportunity Fund Scholars throughout their time at Rice.
“We’re really excited that this community is growing both in the Fulbright and Opportunity Fund students,” Hunter said.
During lunch, students introduced themselves, shared their countries and programs, and reflected on what brought them to Rice.
Jose Alejandro Canas Reyes, a Fulbright Scholar from El Salvador pursuing a master’s degree in engineering management and leadership, said he was drawn to Rice because of the university’s academic strength and values.
“Rice is a highly positioned university, and also all the values that are involved in the university and the way of things, it’s really a match with my values as a person and as a family,” Canas Reyes said.
Gisselle Wolozny, a Fulbright Scholar from Honduras pursuing a master’s degree in global affairs, said she looked for a university that prioritized student-faculty relationships and found Rice to be the right fit.
“Ever since we got here, before even we got here, Rice has made us feel like we’re truly at home,” Wolozny said. “Having a diverse community, to truly make friends from every single corner of the world, has been truly very special, but also very rewarding.”
Maximilian Marquardt, a Fulbright Scholar from Germany studying in the Master of Energy Economics program, said Rice offered a rare academic opportunity in his field.
“There are not many programs in the whole world for energy economics,” Marquardt said. “With the support from Fulbright, that was the perfect way for me to do that.”
For Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, the welcome lunch marked the beginning of another year of programming, mentorship and community-building for Fulbrighters and Opportunity Fund Scholars at Rice. Hunter encouraged students to take an active role in sustaining the community.
“Leave this community a little bit better than you found it,” Hunter said. “That should be our goal.”
Rice Fulbrighters also marked Fulbright’s 80th anniversary with a celebration in Houston and a group trip downtown, where they posed in front of City Hall lit in blue in honor of the program’s global legacy.
The moment connected Fulbright’s 80-year history with the experience of today’s Rice Fulbrighters — students and scholars carrying the program’s mission forward through research, cultural exchange and community-building in Houston and around the world.