The Hertog Foundation Announces Winter 2026 Humanities at Hertog Fellows
The Hertog Foundation is pleased to welcome the 60 fellows selected for the Winter 2026 Humanities at Hertog program. We are grateful to the many faculty and campus partners who encouraged students to apply and helped identify promising candidates.
Over the winter term, fellows will participate in small, discussion-based online seminars on literature, philosophy, and political thought. This year’s curriculum features works by E. M. Forster, Jane Austen, Søren Kierkegaard, and Plato. Each seminar is capped at 15 participants to ensure engaged, rigorous conversation. All courses are fully subsidized by the Hertog Foundation, including books and a study stipend.
This winter’s fellowship class was selected from a competitive pool:
- 172 applicants from 146 colleges and universities, with an average GPA of 3.75
- 60 fellows selected representing 55 institutions, with an average GPA of 3.80
- Top-performing institutions include St. John’s College–Annapolis, University of Georgia, Biola University, Clemson University, Wheaton College, and Harvard University
We congratulate all campuses whose students were selected for this winter’s cohort, and we thank you for your continued support in identifying students who will thrive in the program.
Looking ahead, applications for our Spring 2026 online seminars are now open. Offerings include:
- Dante’s Divine Comedy with Christopher Utter
- Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn with Dorothea Wolfson
- Richard Rhodes’ The Making of the Atomic Bomb with Patrick Coleman
We encourage you to share these opportunities with students who would benefit from intensive engagement with great texts. Applications for the Spring online seminars are due January 20, 2026.
Winter 2026 Humanities Fellows
E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View:
| Victoria Baker, Cornell University, 2025 | Sarah Marghub, University of Richmond, 2027 |
| Adam Bishop, Truman State University, 2024 | Emily Polson, Regent University, 2023 |
| Eleanor Bogue, Catholic University of America, 2027 | Roman Quattrocchi, University of Florida, 2026 |
| Ella Braunfeld, Walsh School of Foreign Service-Georgetown University, 2025 | Genevieve Raushenbush, Harvard University, 2024 |
| Ashley Burgess, Clemson University, 2027 | Rob Thompson, New Mexico State University-Las Cruces, 2027 |
| Dale Freier III, Patrick Henry College, 2025 | Helen Wagner, St. John’s College-Annapolis, 2026 |
| Lily Gauger, Wheaton College, 2028 | Elisabeth Weaver, Thomas Edison State University, 2023 |
| George Kosinski, Grinnell College, 2023 |
Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling:
| Elana Aftahi, University of California-San Diego, 2027 | Millie Ransohoff, St. John’s College-Annapolis, 2026 |
| Patrick Allen, University of Georgia, 2028 | Ezra Seplowitz, Yeshiva University, 2025 |
| Mitchell Bahnsen, Westmont College, 2027 | Jacob Shaffer, Biola University, 2027 |
| Jesse Coffin, St. Thomas University, 2027 | Maude Stevens, Bard College, 2030 |
| Kasey Goodine, St. Thomas University, 2027 | William Sykes, Harvard University, 2027 |
| Charlee Hartley, University of Tulsa, 2027 | Tor Wettlaufer, Yale University, 2027 |
| Henry Long, Claremont McKenna College, 2025 | Jacob Wolf (Auditor), University of Austin |
| Kevin Jose Lopez Cruz, Bowie State University, 2028 | Amha Worku, St. John’s College-Annapolis, 2027 |
Jane Austen’s Persuasion:
| William Acker, Wheaton College, 2028 | Noelle Salgado, University of Dallas, 2023 |
| Ishaan Banerjee, New York University, 2028 | Gregory Sifferman, Loyola University-Maryland, 2024 |
| Avery Bravo, St. John’s College-Annapolis, 2026 | Kate Stanton, Central State University, 2024 |
| Sean Doolan (Auditor), AEI | Isaac Stubbs, Brigham Young University-Provo, 2026 |
| Ava Godbey, University of Georgia, 2027 | Narcis Toderita, London School of Economics, 2026 |
| Ronald Klein, Belmont Abbey College, 2024 | Joshua Tubbs, College of the Holy Cross, 2025 |
| Arina Matvieieva, University of Amsterdam, 2025 | Lauren Veldhuizen, Wake Forest University, 2026 |
| Laura Rucks, Clemson University, 2027 | Tea Wallmark, Dartmouth College, 2025 |
Plato’s Protagoras:
|
Ava Bridges, Bowdoin College, 2028 |
Andrew Nelson (Auditor), Woods Charter School |
| Jackson Green, St. John’s College-Annapolis, 2025 | Joseph Nordan, Michigan State University, 2024 |
| Thomas Griner, University of Georgia, 2028 | Ella Rutman, American University, 2026 |
| Ayush Gupta, Georgetown University, 2027 | Gage Schrier, Middlebury College, 2025 |
| Audrey Haley, Lee University, 2019 | Jonah Swartz, Hillsdale College, 2027 |
| Andreas Johnson, Biola University, 2026 | Dillon Turner, St. John’s College-Annapolis, 2028 |
| Eliana Lazar, The New School, 2024 | Alex Wang, Carleton College, 2027 |
| Muthuvignesh Meenakshisundaram, University of Minnesota-Morris, 2025 |
Michelle Young, Arizona State University-Tempe, 2027 |
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