University of Denver Autumn 2025

The People Who Shape Us

Bridging Worlds

With guidance from Korbel professor Keith Gehring, grad student Raluca Alexandrescu turned a bold idea into a Fulbright-winning project and a life-changing experience. When Raluca Alexandrescu first began her Fulbright application, she wasn’t sure she would qualify, let alone stand out in a field of top-tier candidates. A graduate student in information technology with a focus on AI strategy, she had a vision: to return to Romania, her home country, and study how small businesses in Bucharest could better adopt digital tools. But translating that vision into a competitive proposal would take more than hard work. It would take clarity and perseverance—and the right mentor.

“I’ve been going back and forth to Romania more lately, but I haven’t been able to really stay,” she explains. “I feel like I’m part of both worlds, and this is a way to be a bridge—to open opportunities, build relationships, and maybe help Romanian businesses take advantage of AI and innovation.” That sense of purpose didn’t go unnoticed. For Gehring, Alexandrescu’s sincerity was exactly what Fulbright aims to support. “There’s an intangible we look for—sincerity of purpose,” he says. “In Raluca’s case, it wasn’t just about researching digitization. It was about being a bridge between her home country and the U.S., using her skills to expand opportunity. That kind of vision matters.”

Enter Keith Gehring, a teaching associate professor at DU’s Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs. Gehring—who was recently awarded a Fulbright grant himself and will go to Serbia in March to teach data forecasting—had served on Fulbright review panels before. When he read Alexandrescu’s proposal, something struck him. “It was immediately clear to me that Raluca had something to say, and there was a sincerity behind her

“What really stood out for me was that Keith’s feedback was both critical and encouraging. Maybe for some people that’s not important, but for me, it meant everything.” Raluca Alexandrescu, graduate student

Eventually, the news came that Alexandrescu had been awarded a Fulbright. She was abroad when she found out and remembers bursting into tears. “I just started crying, and I felt so much joy in my heart,” she says. “It confirmed how much I really wanted this.” Gehring, too, remembers the

project,” he says. “So, I wanted to help her articulate her vision in a way that would resonate for the reviewers.” Gehring views serving as a reviewer as paramount to his role as an educator. “If we can’t be a bridge to what our students want to do next, that’s a missed opportunity,” he says. Alexandrescu had already submitted her application when Gehring first met her as a panelist on her campus interview. Afterward, he offered to help her refine it, and the two began meeting one on one, with Gehring pushing her to sharpen her focus and define her audience. “What really stood out for me,” Alexandrescu says, “was that Keith’s feedback was both critical and encouraging. Maybe for some people that’s not important, but for me, it meant everything. He was the first person since I’ve been back as a graduate student who genuinely cared and wanted me to succeed.” Alexandrescu’s project proposal—to explore the digitalization gap facing small businesses in Romania— was deeply personal. Having spent much of her life in the U.S., she saw the Fulbright program as a way to reconnect and give back.

moment he got her message—while attending his own child’s high school graduation in DU’s Magness Arena. “I was sitting there as all the students were walking across the stage, and I thought, ‘Wow, in front of me are all these kids with future potential, and here is Raluca, someone who is realizing her potential and whose future is unfolding right in this moment.’” For both mentor and mentee, the experience reinforced the value of connection and persistence. “Mentorship doesn’t have to be formal,” Gehring says. “Sometimes it starts with a hallway conversation or an office hours visit. And if I’m not the right fit, it’s my job to point a student to someone who is.” Alexandrescu agrees. “Keep at it,” she advises other students looking for a mentor. “Keep knocking on doors and asking questions. It can take time to find the right person, but don’t get discouraged. Surround yourself with people who see your potential.”

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Guided by a shared commitment to making the world better, Professor Keith Gehring helped grad student Raluca Alexandrescu turn her dream into reality.

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UNIVERSITY OF DENVER MAGAZINE | AUTUMN 2025