Congratulations to ICLS Fulbright Scholars, Lauren Goralsky and Alexander ‘Lex’ Meisel
August 22, 2025 – Achievements
Congratulations to two former ICLS undergraduate students for receiving Fulbright U.S. Student Grants for 2025-2026!
Lauren Goralsky, CC’25 – Biochemistry and Comparative Literature
Lauren Goralsky, from Stillwater, Minnesota, is a premedical student working at the intersection of biomedical research and patient care. She graduated with a degree in Biochemistry and Comparative Literature. As an undergraduate, Lauren worked at Columbia’s Danino Lab, focusing on bacterial cancer therapy research, a field exploring how live bacteria can be used to target tumors and deliver treatments. She also volunteered as a coordinator for Columbia Student Health Outreach, worked as a research assistant at Columbia Medical Center, and was a member of the Columbia Cheerleading team. As a Fulbright researcher in Zurich, Switzerland, Lauren will continue working on bacterial cancer therapy and following her fellowship, she plans to attend medical school to pursue a career as a physician.
Alexander ‘Lex’ Meisel, CC’25 – Linguistics and Comparative Literature
Alexander ‘Lex’ Meisel, a double major in Linguistics and Comparative Literature & Society from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a Fulbright Grant to Spain. He will conduct independent research in Barcelona on the Alguerese dialect of Catalan, spoken in Alghero, Sardinia. Building on his senior thesis—Lex will examine medieval archives to trace the historical development of the language. At Columbia, Lex completed a minor in Catalan Studies, served as a teaching assistant in Linguistics, and also interned at the New Congress for Catalan Culture during a semester abroad in Barcelona. Beyond academics, Lex was a competitive alpine skier, qualifying for regionals and nationals, and hopes to ski in Europe next winter.
Pictured (left to right, top to bottom): Billy Hughes, CC’25; Alanis Jáquez, CC’25; Ayanna Becker, CC’25; Jay Chae, SEAS’24; Kristopher Jenner, CC’24; Chimene Keys, CC’25; Jasmine Posner, CC’25; Matthew Oey, GS’24; Justin Haddad, CC’25; Charlotte Andreano, CC’25; Daniel Esler, CC’25; Lauren Goralsky, CC’25; Madeleine Cesaretti, CC’25; Lex Meisel, CC’25; Emma Potts, CC’24; Claire Schweitzer, CC’24; Elizabeth Hasapis, CC’24; Serrina Zou, CC’25. Not pictured: Wasa Ball, CC’25; Helen Latting, CC’24.
