Congratulations to Tayton Fuja, an American Studies major, who recently received a Gilder Lehrman College Fellowship. This program, part of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, provides funding to enable undergraduates to travel to New York City to pursue an original research project in American History.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute was founded in 1994; in addition to housing a large collection of historical documents, the institute provides resources and learning opportunities for students, teachers, and academics to explore American history. They are also a co-sponsor of the George Washington Prize, the signature book prize in the field of early American history, which was won in 2025 by Tyson Reeder of BYU’s History Department.
A Proactive Student
Fuja is an Iowa City, Iowa native who is pursuing a minor in Civic Engagement Leadership in addition to his American Studies major; he will graduate in 2028. He says this fellowship is a perfect fit for him, as he has long had an interest in American history and constitutional law.
Those same interests also meant that American Studies was the perfect major for him—not only does the program have a track called “The Constitution & Democracy in the World,” but the flexible, interdisciplinary nature of the program allows him to tailor his education to what he wants to pursue. “When I came to BYU, I was looking for a major that would let me study constitutional law, and American Studies provided the perfect path,” he says. “Before discovering the program, I wasn't finding the combination of courses I wanted, and I can honestly say that without American Studies, I probably wouldn't have chosen BYU. What makes the program unique is that you get out of it exactly what you put into it. Because you can shape your own course of study, you have the opportunity to dive deeply into the subjects that matter most to you while still developing a broad understanding of American history, culture, and institutions.”
In addition to diving into his coursework, Fuja is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and the Political Affairs Society, has worked as a research assistant, and is a Wheatley Scholar through the Wheatley Institute. Jamin Rowan, faculty coordinator of the American Studies program, says of him, “Tayton is a very proactive American Studies student—he shows up to just about every academic and social event that American Studies sponsors; he volunteered to edit last year's issue of the Americana student journal; he seeks relationships with individual faculty members; he hunts down opportunities and applies for them.”
An Opportunity for Research
Fuja first heard about the Gilder Lehrman College Fellowship Program in American History from Rowan. The fellowship supports undergraduate research in American history by providing access to archival collections and research opportunities in New York City, including the Gilder Lehrman Institute's collections and other major research libraries. “Since I have a strong interest in researching the early American republic, it seemed like a perfect opportunity,” he says.
He submitted an application along with a research proposal; his proposed project “examines debates over education in the early American republic and explores how early Americans understood education's role in sustaining republican government,” he explains. “The working title is Teaching a Republic: Politics and Ideals in the Educational Proposals and Debates of the Early Republic.”
In June, he learned he had been accepted—an impressive feat, given that no BYU student had ever received the fellowship before, and that many of the previous recipients have come from Ivy League schools. Rowan, however, is not surprised at Fuja’s success. “Because the American Studies program allows students to choose their courses from a wide variety of classes across campus, they are able to pursue their interests and passions in greater depth than many other degrees allow,” he says. “As a result, they set themselves apart from other students and make themselves appealing to fellowship programs, graduate schools, and employers.”
Fuja, for his part, says that his research experiences during his undergraduate studies played a big role: “Those research experiences have taught me how to work with historical sources and develop scholarly arguments, and I believe they helped prepare me for a fellowship like this,” he says. “I would encourage any student interested in applying for research fellowships to seek out research opportunities whenever possible.”
An Important Step
The funding from the fellowship will enable Fuja to kickstart his research project by spending time in some of the most important collections of primary sources on American History. “I will spend time in New York City this August conducting research at the New York Public Library's Special Collections, Columbia University's Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute,” he says. “After completing my archival research, I will spend the remainder of the year writing a research paper based on my findings.”
Once the paper is complete, he hopes to have it published, he says, “so that I can contribute to the broader historical conversation on the subject.”
All of this will contribute to his academic and professional goals; he hopes to attend law school, and feels that this fellowship will both strengthen his law school applications and help him hone research and writing skills that will serve him well in his study of the law. “Looking beyond law school, he says, “I hope to build a career that combines law and public service. Because my research focuses on the relationship between history, education, and politics, I see this fellowship as an important step toward those long-term goals.”
Click here to read more about the Gilder Lehrman College Fellowship Program in American History. And read more about the Kennedy Center’s American Studies program here.