This is the eighth straight year Catholic University students have won Fulbright awards. Please note: Catholic University's commencement is Saturday, May 17, 10 a.m., on the campus (620 Michigan Ave. NE, Washington, DC) and livestreamed. Bishop Robert Barron, an alumnus and founder of Word on Fire, is commencement speaker.
Chloe Masaitis, who graduates from The Catholic University of America on May 17, will soon head to Taiwan for an English teaching assistantship after winning a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award. She is one of two Catholic University graduates offered a Fulbright so far this year.
“This is the eighth year in a row that Catholic University has had winners of this prestigious award. It’s a testament to the growing status of the University and the caliber of our students,” said Andrew Litke, assistant director for academic support, grants, and fellowships.
Caten Knopf, a 2023 alumna of the Busch School of Business at Catholic University, was also offered a Fulbright. She will participate in a 10-month binational business program in Mexico. The primary experience will be an internship with a cooperating Mexican corporation. She also will take international business courses at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). Caten hopes this opportunity will help her achieve her goal to open a social enterprise in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she has family roots.
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Funding comes from an annual appropriation made by Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. More than 2,000 Fulbright U.S. students — recent college graduates, graduate students, and early career professionals — pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English in schools abroad each year through the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Caten said that Catholic University had a big impact on her.
“My experience at Catholic very much shaped, supported, and gave me the tools necessary to achieve this award. Learning about Catholic Social Teaching in my business classes changed my outlook…as it was the first time I saw that business can be a force for good,” she said.
After graduation, Caten volunteered with VIDES, a program run by the Salesian sisters, in El Salvador and Guatemala. She also interned at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.
Like Caten, Chloe took full advantage of her time at Catholic University. A resident assistant and academic standout, she tackled a double major in history and global studies, with a minor in politics/pre-law. She also completed the Humanities track in the University’s Honors Program. The summer before her senior year, she studied in Taiwan, and she has been a Mandarin Chinese tutor on campus.
Chloe has received numerous awards, including the Monsignor Campbell Award, which is the highest academic honor awarded at Catholic University.