Eight W&L Students Awarded Gilman Scholarships to Study Abroad This round of recipients marks a record-setting Gilman Scholar cohort for W&L.

By Emily Innes
May 14, 2025

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program announced its latest round of recipients for the academic year. Eight students were accepted from Washington and Lee University.

The 2024-2025 Gilman Scholar cohort – 20 students – is W&L’s largest ever, with 12 students also receiving the Gilman Scholarship during Fall Term 2024. The university’s previous record of Gilman Scholar recipients in an academic year was 11 students. The new record number of Gilman Scholars speaks to W&L students’ ambitious pursuit of opportunities to further their academic and professional growth, as well as to the intensive guidance and support offered by university staff and faculty. More than 17,000 individuals applied to the scholarship program this academic year.

This spring’s W&L recipients include:

• Alexander Bousman ’28 to study Armenian in Armenia.
• Audrey Foss ’28 to study Shakespeare and Renaissance history at the University of Oxford in England.
• Mareme Kane ’27 to study Arabic in Jordan.
• Gabriel Ketchum ’28 to complete a marketing internship in Chile.
• Abby Kim ’26 to complete a communications internship in Japan.
• Gina Kuah ’27 to study Japanese language, culture and international politics in Japan.
• Saaraim Nunez ’27 to study at the University of Oxford in England.
• Chace Thompson ’27 to study in Italy.

“This group of students displayed great dedication and tenacity throughout the application process, and it is wonderful to see their dreams come true,” said Dallas Tatman, assistant director of fellowships and visiting instructor of anthropology. “These leaders and scholars will experience firsthand the excitement and wonder that only comes from learning new things in new places. Best of all, they bring their experiences back with them and enrich our campus community.”

Alexander Bousman ’28

A physics and computer science double major and math minor, Bousman will study Armenian at ASPIRANTUM, the Armenian School of Languages and Cultures, in Yerevan, Armenia. For Bousman, the Gilman Scholarship is an important step in his career; he looks forward to deepening his understanding of Armenia’s social landscape and strengthening his ability to collaborate with local scholars, policymakers and innovators. “Being awarded this opportunity validates the personal and professional mission that has driven my journey — from adapting as the perpetual ‘Armenian kid’ to pursuing a career at the intersection of quantum technology and security — and it would provide the immersive environment I need to transform that mission into impact,” said the West Lafayette, Indiana, native. “This award will bridge my liberal arts STEM background with the real-world challenges in Armenia’s high-tech and security sectors, equipping me to contribute meaningfully to the country’s resilience and growth.”

Audrey Foss ’28

Foss, a politics and history double major from Pensacola, Florida, will participate in the Virginia Program at Oxford, where she will study Shakespeare and Renaissance history at St. Anne’s College. The Virginia Program at Oxford allows students to immerse themselves in English culture and history for six weeks in the summer and study with some of the world’s foremost experts on English Renaissance history and literature. “I am unbelievably fortunate to be awarded the Gilman Scholarship to help me pursue my interests over the summer,” Foss said. “Getting to experience the top university in the world is an opportunity that will contribute to my academic and personal development and will be something I never forget.”

Mareme Kane ’27

Kane, a sociology major with minors in Arabic and poverty and human capability studies, will study Arabic in Jordan through the CET Program, focusing on both modern standard Arabic and the Jordanian dialect. Born in the Bronx, New York, and raised between New York City and Senegal, Kane has always loved learning languages and speaks Wolof, French, English and Spanish. She is grateful for the opportunity to strengthen her Arabic language skills and gain cross-cultural experience through the CET Program’s field-based learning, language partners and housing accommodations that encourage cultural engagement and acclimation. “Language is a gateway to understanding culture, and deepening that understanding is essential to my long-term interest in international human rights work,” Kane said.

Gabriel Ketchum ’28

Ketchum will complete a marketing internship with Gin Double T in Santiago, Chile, this summer and is looking forward to further exploring his career interests and learning how to thrive in a foreign work environment. A business administration major from Norristown, Pennsylvania, Ketchum will also visit local schools to communicate the importance of learning languages and the opportunities this skill can create. “Being in Santiago will allow me to perfect my fluency in Spanish and be a more versatile asset in the professional world,” he said. “I am so honored that the Gilman Scholarship recognizes this experience as one that will benefit not only me, but those around me as well.”

Abby Kim ’26

Kim, a strategic communications and sociology double major and Japanese minor, will complete a communications internship with Beyond AI in Tokyo, gaining essential skills for her academic and career development. “I am so excited and honored to be awarded the Gilman Scholarship for this opportunity,” said the Woodstock, Maryland, native. “This internship is directly related to my post-graduate career plans, and I was able to confidently apply and pursue the internship because of the Gilman Scholarship.”

Gina Kuah ’27

Kuah will study Japanese language, culture and international politics at the International Christian University in Tokyo, participating in the Middlebury Schools Abroad Program. A politics and Japanese double major from Woodbury, Minnesota, Kuah also received the Gilman-IIE-McKeown Scholarship, which funds academic year study abroad opportunities for students studying a foreign language, with priority given to students from Minnesota or Wisconsin. Kuah views the Gilman as an important step as she pursues a career in the federal government and is grateful for the financial support the scholarship provides. “Being awarded this opportunity is a huge privilege that will support me greatly and allow me the ability to study in an environment where my language skills can flourish,” she said. “The Gilman Scholarship makes studying abroad possible for low-income students like me who would not otherwise have such an amazing opportunity and allows us to get our foot in the door and deeply enrich our learning experiences as global citizens.”

Kuah also received a Critical Language Scholarship to study Japanese in Okayama, Japan during the summer of 2025, and is looking forward to jumpstarting her integration into Japanese language and culture with the CLS, and continuing to strengthen her language skills with the Gilman.

Saaraim Nunez ’27

Nunez, a philosophy major with minors in poverty and human capability studies and data science, will also study at the University of Oxford this summer through the Virginia Program at Oxford. He is grateful for the opportunity to engage with global perspectives that will enrich his college experience, enhance his intercultural skills and better equip him to accomplish his goals. “Being awarded the Gilman Scholarship is both an incredible honor and a pivotal opportunity in my academic and personal journey,” he said. “The financial support from Gilman makes studying abroad not just possible, but purposeful.”

Chace Thompson ’27

Thompson is a sociology and anthropology major with minors in poverty and human capability studies and women’s, gender and sexuality studies. He will be participating in a program centered on global citizenship education in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy, where he will teach at a middle school and lead discussions on topics such as gender and sexuality, poverty, inequality, social justice and the role of institutions in shaping these issues. Thompson looks forward to connecting what he studies at W&L to real-world conversations and global learning environments. Studying abroad has been a lifelong dream of Thompson’s, driven by his desire to meet and engage with people from different backgrounds, and he is grateful to W&L, the Gilman Scholarship and QuestBridge for making it possible. “This scholarship represents more than just funding,” said Thompson. “It symbolizes the bridge between my roots as a low-income, first-generation college student from rural Appalachian West Virginia and the vast world I’ve always dreamed of exploring but never thought would be a possibility for me.”

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Since the inception of the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship Program in 2001, more than 44,000 scholarships have been awarded to students participating in study abroad programs and internships around the world.

The Gilman Scholarship Program, named for retired congressman Benjamin A. Gilman, seeks to diversify the kinds of students who study or intern abroad and the countries and regions they visit by offering up to $5,000 to U.S. undergraduate students who are Pell Grant recipients. The scholarship is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the Institute of International Education administers the program.

The deadline to apply for a Gilman Scholarship awarded in fall 2025 is Oct. 3. Students interested in applying are encouraged to set up an appointment with W&L’s Office of Fellowships via Handshake.

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