Students Had a Blast at Summer Programs 2025

Summer College Academy

This summer, two motivated Icelandic students from Kvennaskólinn headed west to get a glimpse of American university life.

Þórunn Guðmundsdóttir stayed at Boston University for approximately two weeks. She described her time there as a truly magical and informative experience. Her program focused on understanding American universities, everything from the application process to finding the right school. In addition, the program offered a wide variety of field trips to Boston-area universities.

Elísa Rún Róbertsdóttir attended Johns Hopkins University, the first Icelander the Commission has sent to JHU summer programs, as they are a new partner. Elísa chose the Medical School Intensive program, as she hopes to study in a medical-related field. She loved the opportunity to dive into all kinds of new experiences and learning, for example, how to administer IV nutrition, insert a breathing tube, and conduct patient interviews. Yet the highlight of Elísa’s summer academy experience came on the very first day, when the group dissected a pig.

Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship

Sonja Bríet Steingrímsdóttir, an enthusiastic student at Menntaskólinn á Egilsstöðum in East Iceland received a grant from the Iceland-U.S. Educational Commission and the U.S. Embassy to attend the highly prestigious Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship hosted by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, which focuses on leadership. Sonja met students from all over Europe who took part in the program, and developed many friendships, including with participants from the United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, and Latvia. The group participated in interesting courses, such as “International Relations and Diplomacy” and “Democratic Citizen”. There were also exciting group projects. In one, Sonja played the part of the U.S. Energy Secretary and in another her group presented a case to a judge at the Indiana Supreme Court.

Nordic Youth Grant to Arctic Encounters

Nordic Youth grantees with the Nordic Arctic Ambassadors at AES

The Nordic Youth Grant was a joint effort by the five Nordic Fulbright Commissions, led by Fulbright Denmark, to send young people from the Nordic countries to the Arctic Encounter Symposium (AES) in Anchorage, Alaska. Two Icelandic university students, Jósteinn Kristjánsson and Sturla E. Jónsson, students at the University of Iceland, were selected by the Commission to join 10 other Nordic youth at the conference at the end of July. Accompanying the group was Fulbright Iceland Senior Program Officer Pétur Valsson. In addition to attending AES, the group met with former Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir and the Nordic Arctic Ambassadors for in-depth discussions. The opportunity to visit Alaska had a profound impact on all the participants in this program. Both Icelandic participants found it to be an eye-opening experience that has impacted their studies.