Sofia Taylor was just settling into a new role as a research assistant when she received news that would redirect her path and send her across the Atlantic.
Taylor – a 2024 University of Mary Washington graduate who majored in psychology, with a double-minor in music and neuroscience – had won a U.S. government-sponsored Fulbright Award to continue her research in Germany.
“When I read the acceptance letter I just started crying,” Taylor said about the notification that posted to her portal while she was on vacation with family. “There were happy tears ready to spring out every time I told someone I got the award.”
She joins decades of UMW grads who’ve earned grants from the prestigious Fulbright Program. Among the world’s most competitive international exchange initiatives, it aims to support cross-cultural education and boost connections around the globe. Taylor’s grant will take her to the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt, which researches music and neuropsychology. There, she’ll continue the work she started at Mary Washington, examining the impacts of recorded versus live musical performances on positive emotions and dopamine function in young adults.
Since singing the alma mater at her own UMW graduation, Taylor – who received the full-ride Justin and Helen Piscopo Alvey Scholarship – has immersed herself in oncology research at the University of Michigan. This experience, plus the support and inspiration she found at Mary Washington, prepared her for the rigorous Fulbright application process that would eventually land her in Germany.
“I’m most excited about being at an institute that’s completely devoted to the research areas I devoted four years to at UMW,” said Taylor, who has a passion for examining how music is perceived, recognized and affects human cognition. She credits UMW’s Fulbright information sessions, friends she made while studying abroad in Vienna, Austria – the birthplace of psychology and a center for classical music – and undergraduate research with influencing her decision to pursue the grant.
UMW’s Fulbright committee – co-chaired by Professor of Biology Dianne Baker and Professor of History Nabil Al-Tikriti – plays a crucial role in advising and mentoring interested candidates. Faculty members from various disciplines work closely with prospects throughout the process, which includes personal statements and essays, letters of recommendation and interviews, and draws on a variety of factors.
“Language study, undergraduate research, teaching English as a second language, studying abroad, overall academic record – or some combination of these elements – shape a competitive profile,” Al-Tikriti said.
Taylor’s success reflects UMW’s growing reputation for Fulbright achievement, with roughly 30 winners of – and nearly 40 semifinalists for – the coveted award over the years. This year, UMW grads Allison Fletcher ’25 and Ethan Stackpole ’15 achieved semifinalist status; Fletcher for research in biology in the Netherlands and Stackpole to study business in Spain.
“My own degree path showed an appreciation for a liberal arts education,” Taylor said. “I can’t really imagine another university that would allow such flexibility for a student to explore their academic passions and give them that trust that they will follow through.”
Taylor’s research in Frankfurt also holds personal significance – her grandmother grew up in the German city before leaving for the United States decades ago. “It feels very serendipitous that I am traveling back to the city she emigrated from,” she said. “Through the help of this Fulbright grant, I hope to be a trailblazer and advocating voice for combining the arts with mental health services in the U.S.”
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