Nissa Berle ’24 earns Fulbright Study/Research Award

Nissa Berle ’24 has earned a Fulbright study/research award to Canada. The psychology major, who also earned a linguistics minor, will spend the 2026-27 academic year studying for a master’s degree in disaster and emergency management at York University in Toronto, Canada. 

“I decided to study in Canada because I want to work with an international NGO to help provide support to people impacted by the ever-increasing frequency and severity of disasters,” Berle says. 

“I was drawn to the program in part because of its strong interdisciplinary focus, an approach I came to highly value at Oberlin. Although it's mostly a new field to me, there is a psychology and sociology focused class that's required for the degree which I'm excited for.” 

Berle is one of five Oberlin alums to receive a Fulbright study/research award during this fellowship cycle. Overall, 16 Obies were awarded Fulbrights for the upcoming academic year.

Accordingly, Oberlin is a perennial leader among undergraduate institutions in Fulbright honorees. In fact, the Fulbright Program has named Oberlin College and Conservatory a Top Producer of Fulbright students for 17 years in a row as of the 2025-2026 academic year.

At Oberlin, Berle was involved in the fencing club Flaming Blades; served as a Writing Associate; and studied away in Sweden. They also took two years of Mandarin, which was useful during their immediate post-graduation life: For the last two years, Berle was an Oberlin Shansi fellow in Taigu, China.

Berle also credits Kim Faber’s Language Pedagogy course for paving the way for these formative experiences.

“While going over one of my assignments she asked me if I ever considered teaching through Oberlin Shansi. Although I had heard of Shansi before, her encouragement made me seriously consider the opportunity, and helped me seriously explore every opportunity available to me, eventually including Fulbright.”

At York University, Berle is also excited about the on-campus opportunities available, academic and otherwise.

“My program allows courses outside of the department, and I'm looking forward to exploring course options in a lot of different disciplines,” they say. “And of course I'm also excited to make friends, explore, and try lots of new food.”

Connect with Fellowships & Awards to learn more about opportunities for Oberlin students.