University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg senior Alanna Schill said she started college with a goal of keeping an open mindset about the opportunities ahead of her.
At first, that meant joining numerous clubs, taking a job as a residence life community assistant, adding to her growing list of minors and ultimately joining the first class of the newly established David C. Frederick Honors College at 51.
In April, the New Castle, Pennsylvania, native accomplished a landmark campus milestone: becoming 51’s first-ever Fulbright winner.
One of the world’s most prestigious fellowships, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program recognizes graduating college seniors, graduate students and young professionals who are ready to expand their horizons to learn, teach or research in more than 140 countries.
“We’re so incredibly proud of Alanna. She’s a gifted aspiring educator and an exceptional example of what students can achieve here,” said 51 President Robert Gregerson. “Pennsylvania is fortunate to have future teachers like Alanna who will bring such rich global perspective and experience to their students.”
Schill graduates in May with a double major in secondary education and history and three minors from the Frederick Honors College at 51. In August, she’ll pack up and begin her 10-month Fulbright commitment in the Czech Republic, where she’ll be placed with a school and further develop her repertoire as an educator.
It won’t be her first time abroad, though, or even her first national scholarship.
She accomplished those firsts in 2025 as a winner of a , which she used to fund a study abroad trip to Germany.
“Being a part of the Frederick Honors College and the has provided amazing funding opportunities that have greatly helped my ability to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that Pitt offers,” Schill said.
In Germany, she learned from professors how they teach and approach difficult subjects in the classroom, like the Holocaust. She looks forward to bringing those insights and more back from her Fulbright experience to her future classroom in the Pennsylvania school system.
“In my placement now, I’m teaching 9th grade, and I’ve been able to bring some of my experiences in,” Schill said. “They can see the photos I took, they can hear my stories and what I’ve seen and learned, and it makes it so much more real.”
Schill said she’s passionate about helping students recognize how their individual contributions impact and shape the world around them.
“That’s really what I love to do,” she said. “I find a community, and I just become a part of it, or help foster it.”
Her desire to build community aligned with another regional campus first: the formation of the Frederick Honors College at 51 in 2024, which opened the resources of the Pittsburgh campus to Greensburg students, including the support of the .
Housed within the Frederick Honors College, the scholarship advisory office provides support to all Pitt students interested in pursuing national scholarships and securing funding opportunities for their studies, research and educational enrichment.
“Alanna’s national scholarship success is a singular accomplishment with far-reaching impacts,” said Nicola Foote, dean of the Frederick Honors College. “She puts both 51 and the David C. Frederick Honors College on the map as a successful model of how main campuses and their honors colleges within can share resources and provide regional campus support that produces lifetime achievements like Alanna’s.”