Tori Layton ’26 awarded DAAD grant to help fund a master’s program in Germany

When Tori Layton ’26 was a 13 year old high school student just starting German, she didn’t imagine her language skills would one day land her a top scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in Germany.

Layton recently earned a Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) grant. Also known as German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD is a Germany-based international funding organization for exchange students, researchers and academics. Layton, a German studies and history major with minors in museum studies and public history and international and global studies, plans to pursue a master’s degree in intercultural communication and European studies at Fulda University of Applied Sciences.

Layton discovered the DAAD grant via a tip from her German professors, Kristin Lange, associate professor of German, and Scott Windham, associate professor of German. She received strategic support from Nicole Galante, assistant director of national and international fellowships, and Ann Cahill, professor of philosophy, distinguished university professor and director of the National and International Fellowships Office (NIFO).

“The guidance I received from faculty was instrumental in helping me achieve this milestone,” Layton said. “Nicole Galante and Dr. Cahill at NIFO assisted me in writing a statement of purpose and making clear that I am an ideal candidate for DAAD. I am also thankful for my German professors Dr. Scott Windham and Dr. Kristin Lange for encouraging me to pursue studies abroad and to challenge myself.”

Layton also discussed how the DAAD grant will help her achieve her dream of earning a master’s degree abroad.

“The value of studying outside of your home country is something that I don’t think many Americans grasp, and I am excited to gain new academic perspectives by engaging with a culture that is not my own,” Layton said.

Layton’s inspiration for pursuing a master’s degree in Germany stems from her semester abroad in Heidelberg during fall 2024 after immersing herself in the city and culture, she longed to return to Germany.

“I took all of my coursework in German and wrote a semester paper in German, so my language skills and ability to engage with German texts in my field of study expanded drastically,” Layton said. “I felt one with Heidelberg and like I belonged there. This showed me that I am capable of pursuing further education in the country.”

Layton’s strong interest in German studies began when she was 13 years old. She started completing German coursework at this age and was fascinated to learn about a language and culture that was different from her own. Layton continued her studies in high school, which ultimately carried over to her time at Elon.

“It was at Elon that I really thrived in German, developing advanced proficiency and connecting German to my career goals,” Layton said. “My advisor Dr. Windham taught me in my first semester in German my freshman fall, and he saw my potential and encouraged me to continue pursuing language education.”

Because Layton knew she wanted to take a German course each semester to maintain her language proficiency, creating a German studies major seemed like the logical next step. She also noted how courses in German studies, history, museum studies and international and global studies intersect.

“Dr. Windham introduced me to the idea of being a German major, and he was clear that he would support the process of designing the major, so I wasn’t too overwhelmed by the idea,” Layton said. “As an ambitious student, I was more excited to start something new than I was nervous.”

Designing this new major involved curating a list of required courses and proposing a capstone thesis project. Windham, Evan Gatti, professor of art history, and Amanda Laury Kleintop, assistant professor of history, helped Layton make sure that the German studies curriculum coincided with her other degree programs.

“Designing the major took two semesters of meetings and collaboration with committees to prove I could undertake an entirely new major, a demanding process that strengthened my ambition and clarified my academic and career goals,” Layton said.

DAAD is one of the world’s largest grant institutions. It funds research and study for over 100,000 people in Germany and across the world.

“Receiving the DAAD grant is significant because it’s proof that Tori is among the top young researchers in the United States and it’s a testament to her academic achievements and intellectual ambition,” Windham said. “We are ridiculously proud of Tori. The grant shows how well Elon supports undergraduate research, international grant and fellowship applications, and cross-disciplinary studies. It also shows that Elon’s language programs are among the best in the country. Tori’s DAAD grant wouldn’t be possible without her extraordinary abilities in German.”

This year, Layton worked with Windham and Gatti to complete her German studies capstone project investigating how the extremist far-right political party in Germany, Die Alternative für Deutschland (The Alternative for Germany, AfD), uses propaganda infused with historical visual rhetoric. She explained how this propaganda suggests that the party is helping restore Germany’s former glory.

“The research has consisted of considerable close reading of propaganda posters, culminating in a map that visually connects each image,” Layton said. “This is to exhibit how there is a global shift towards far-right extremism that is being influenced by internet-based propaganda today.”

Layton met with Windham and Gatti weekly to discuss the work she completed and to receive feedback. She really valued this mentorship because of Windham’s position as a professor of German studies and Gatti’s background in German medievalism.

“Dr. Windham and Dr. Gatti guided me while I determined how this project would look in the end,” Layton said. “I am eternally grateful for their endless support, insight and encouragement.”

Looking ahead to her future studies in Fulda, Germany, Layton anticipates continuing the research she started at Elon as she contemplates a topic for her master’s thesis.