MSU Fulbright Scholar heads to Italy—returns to mentor’s roots

For Mississippi State University graduate Alijah Jones, the road to a Fulbright Scholarship began in the stillness of the pandemic. Feeling a lack of connection, Jones said he “indulged” in internet browsing, happening upon a YouTube video––“Dinner with my Italian Host Family.” Stepping outside the loneliness of isolation, he found not just a glimpse into another culture, but a spark that would one day take him across the world.

“Italian found me,” said Jones, a May 2025 graduate now preparing to serve as an English teaching assistant in Italy from October 2025-June 2026. “That moment of discovery opened up a world of global possibility. Coming to MSU and getting to connect that experience to my academic studies was the perfect chance to fuel my connection to the Italian language and culture.”

Jones, who earned a political science degree with minors in Italian, linguistics and international studies, quickly made the university’s Italian program a second home. It was there he met Rosy Nigro, a faculty member in the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures, who would become a key mentor throughout his academic career—and the guiding hand in his Fulbright application process.

“Freshman year is tough,” said Jones, “but it’s made a bit better when your mornings are spent learning about Italy. And when you have an Italian professor as passionate about her hometown as Professoressa Nigro is about Catania, you want to go and see it for yourself.”

Jones’s Fulbright Italian destination will not be disclosed until later in the summer but is likely to be located in the regions of Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia or Sicily. 

Perhaps Jones will find himself in Catania—more than just a city on the eastern coast of Sicily. It’s also Nigro’s hometown and the place where she earned her bachelor’s and laurea degrees––an Italian program similar to a U.S. master’s or Ph.D. course of study––before moving to the U.S. and earning a master’s and Ph.D. from MSU. 

Helping Jones prepare his application to study and teach in the area she once called home was a deeply personal and professional moment.

“Seeing one of my students return to my home country is incredibly rewarding,” said Nigro. “It’s a powerful reminder of the impact teachers can have, and for me, it feels like giving back to my own city in a meaningful way.”

Nigro has taught Jones since his first Italian course in Fall 2021 and immediately recognized his natural drive.

“Alijah is a ray of sunshine in the classroom,” Nigro said. “He’s diligent, always ready to help others and deeply rooted in his community, which makes his appreciation for other cultures even more impressive. His passion for Italy developed both in and outside the classroom—through language clubs, guest lectures and cultural interests like cuisine and music.”

Together, student and mentor crafted a Fulbright application that celebrated not only Jones’s academic accomplishments, but also the cultural parallels between his Mississippi roots and the southern Italian communities with whom he hopes to engage.

“Highlighting those similarities—shared values of community, tradition and family—made his application even more meaningful,” Nigro explained. “Alijah’s involvement in local activities here demonstrated his ability to adapt and contribute to a similar environment in Italy.”

Jones, a Charles Menifield and Bill Collins Scholar at MSU, earned a Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Summer Institute Fellowship at the University of Michigan last summer, where he studied public policy, economics and international affairs—skills that align with his long-term goal of becoming a U.S. Foreign Service diplomat. He also studied at the University of Oxford through the Shackouls Honors College study-abroad program in 2022. Still, it was the Fulbright acceptance that brought him to tears.

“When I first started to read the acceptance letter, it’s like my brain had forgotten how to read English,” he said. “As soon as my friend read the first line aloud, I crumbled. I thought about my siblings and how this moment might inspire them. It’s a blessing I thank God for every time I’m reminded of it.”

As he prepares to depart for Italy, Jones carries with him not only the hopes of his own family but the support of his MSU community.

“Alijah’s story reflects the global perspective we aim to instill in our students,” Nigro said. “It demonstrates how language and cultural studies prepare students to engage meaningfully with the world and to grow personally through those experiences.”

She added a final word of encouragement for her former student: “Embrace every moment with an open heart. Let the journey shape you in ways you never imagined. This adventure isn’t just about discovering a new place—it’s discovering more about yourself.”

For Jones, the full-circle nature of his Fulbright experience is clear. What began with a love for Italian, sparked by a mentor and teacher, culminated in the opportunity of a lifetime, leading him to the country of Italy––a culture that shaped his mentor, and now, will help shape him.