Gardner-Webb Alumna Honored with Prestigious Fulbright Award

Johnson & Wales Faculty Member Dr. Alana Dagenhart Studies and Teaches Poetry in Northern Ireland

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—A Gardner-Webb University alumna, scholar, and poet is living her dream in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dr. Alana Dagenhart is a 2025 Fulbright U.S. Scholar. An esteemed faculty member of English in the College of Arts and Sciences at Johnson & Wales University (JWU), Dagenhart will study and teach poetry at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University Belfast for the next year.

She invites people to share her Fulbright experience in Ireland, learning about its people and poets in a blog on her website, alanadagenhart.com. On her 10th day in the country, Dagenhart wrote: “Well, I’m on the ground here in Belfast. It is surreal. I know people say that word a lot to describe their experiences, and it can seem quite cliché, but my time in Ireland so far has been as dream-like as experiences can get. There is a magical quality about the air. Everyone looks like someone I know. I see people on the street, or in a shop and feel like I know them. Y’all know Iredell County was settled by people from this region of Northern Ireland, the Ulster Scots, so no surprise, but it is an eerily familiar sensation.”

Dagenhart received her Master of Arts in English from Gardner-Webb in 2004. She said her studies in the program opened her worldview and broadened her perspective beyond the United States. “I was reading ‘The Kite Runner’ for a (GWU) world literature class and realized that the author was roughly my age,” Dagenhart reflected. “It crushed me to think that while he and his characters were trying to survive a Taliban-invaded Afghanistan in the 1980s, I’d been on my side of the globe worried about Friday night football.”

She continued, “We read gorgeous stories from Africa, Japan, China, South America, and India, stories of love, of families, heritage, and heartbreak. My classes helped me to consider what it means to be a citizen of the world, not just North Carolina. My GWU English professors encouraged challenge. They made me memorize Shakespeare and they modeled fantastic teaching. They set me up for a PhD in literature and criticism, but more importantly, they became mentors and cherished friends.”

Dagenhart started writing poetry in elementary school and is especially excited to be working at the Seamus Heaney Centre, the epicenter of poetry in Northern Ireland and possibly all of Ireland. Dagenhart exclaimed, “I am in a land that honors poetry and celebrates poets. Plus, I am teaching poetry! As a poet and teacher, I don’t think I could ask for more. I am utterly thrilled and humbled by this opportunity.”

Reflecting on her Fulbright journey, she shared, “Receiving this prestigious award has been a lifelong academic aspiration and a five-year application journey. Each year, I progressed a little more through the process. I am so glad I did not give up.”

Dr. Richard Mathieu, president of JWU Charlotte Campus, expressed great pride in Dagenhart’s accomplishments, stating, “Alana’s selection for a Fulbright Award is an outstanding testament to her excellence in the field of poetic literature. We are privileged to have her representing Johnson & Wales on the world stage as her experiences will not only enhance her own scholarly pursuits but also enrich the educational experiences of our students.”

As a Fulbright Scholar, Dagenhart’s project at Queen’s University Belfast delves into the intersections of Northern Irish poetry, North Carolina literature, and cultural connections. Her hybrid project blending poetry, place studies, science and pedagogy promises to forge new perspectives and insights in literary scholarship. She seeks to create poetry, study Irish literature and ecopoetics, which draws connections between human activity—specifically the writing of poems—and the environment that produces it. Her research also focuses on poet Ciaran Carson, a lifelong, prolific poet of Belfast.

“This study connects people and texts, bringing new insights that transform our reading of historical works,” Dagenhart noted. “Linking Appalachian poetry to Northern Ireland could reshape our view of Appalachian literature, and collaborations will foster future research.”

Dagenhart’s dedication to global engagement and cultural understanding resonates with the vision of the United Kingdom Fulbright Commission, striving for a world without obstacles to learning, understanding, and collaboration. Her journey serves as an inspiration to aspiring scholars and educators, emphasizing the value of perseverance and intellectual curiosity. And her advice to embrace rejections as opportunities for growth echoes the spirit of continuous learning and resilience.

“Take rejections like a compliment,” Dagenhart asserted. “All a rejection means is that you’re not ready—yet. ​If you are honest with yourself, you’ll find that rejections always serve you some valuable information that you can use to persevere. Take that information and turn it into success.”

Dagenhart earned her Ph.D. in literature and criticism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has been on the faculty of JWU for 17 years. For the past 10 years, she has also worked part time as a ski instructor in Blowing Rock, N.C. She is the author of a poetry collection, “Yellow Leaves” (Redhawk Publications, 2022), and a chapbook, “Blood” (Finishing Line Press, 2016). Her poems have appeared in various journals including “Tar River,” “Kakalak,” “Pinesong,” “Main Street Rag,” and “Emrys.” She is particularly interested in the intersection of place, poems, and art: Words as texture and symbol, paintings as poetry. More information about her poetry can be found on her website.

For more details about U.S. Fulbright Scholars, visit the US-UK Fulbright Commission website here.

Johnson & Wales University Communications and Media Relations contributed to this report.

About JWU

Founded in 1914, Johnson & Wales University is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution with more than 8,000 graduate, undergraduate and online students at its campuses in Providence, Rhode Island and Charlotte, North Carolina. The university’s impact is global, with alumni in 125 countries pursuing careers worldwide. For more information, visit jwu.edu.

About Gardner-Webb

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.