ST. PAUL, Minn. – Macalester College recent graduate Kayla Togneri (Ventura, Calif./Ventura) was one of two 2021 Macalester graduates to receive prestigious Fulbright scholarships. Togneri, a member of the women's soccer and women's basketball teams at Macalester, received a Research/Study Award to Peru.

The Fulbright program is the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program. Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 390,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Togneri, a biology and neuroscience double-major at Macalester, will undertake a translational neuroscience research project focusing on unveiling the different correlations between the tropical, parasitic infection neurocysticercosis (NCC) and hippocampal sclerosis. As a dual-sport athlete, Togneri was a forward on the women's basketball team and registered 244 points and 333 rebounds in her career. She also was a goalkeeper for the women's soccer team, playing in 20 games over two seasons.

Macalester Athletics congratulates Kayla and all of this year's Macalester's Fulbright recipients: Anisha RajBhandary '21 and Essie Schlotterbeck '13.