Like many students who major in political science, Brandon Tensley ’12 imagined he would proceed to law school after graduating from Furman. But as a senior who was also studying German, he applied for and was awarded a Fulbright grant to Germany, and things changed.

Brandon Tensley ’12 visits the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany.

“Once I was there, I became more interested in how issues of culture and identity, particularly racial identity, play out in a German context,” he said.

The experience as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Essen, Germany, where he taught students ages 10 through 15, altered Tensley’s entire career trajectory. His interest in multiculturalism and racial identity took him to Oxford, England, where he received a Master of Philosophy in European politics and society in 2015.

Now Tensley, who also served in Thailand as a Luce Scholar, said he carries that “arsenal of experiences” with him as a national political writer for CNN in Washington, D.C. “So even if I’m not living in Germany or Thailand anymore, those experiences are always going to in some way inform the way I think about my work,” he said.

The Top Producer honor comes after six Furman graduates were awarded Fulbright English teaching assistantships last year.

This year, Furman was again named a “top producer” for the Fulbright Program, which was created to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries. The largest and most diverse international educational exchange program, it is funded