Six W&L Students Awarded Gilman Scholarships to Study Abroad The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards of up to $5,000 to U.S. undergraduate students who are Pell Grant recipients.
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program announced its recipients for this academic year. Six students were accepted from Washington and Lee University.
This year’s W&L recipients include:
- Emma Conover ’24 – to complete a proposed internship in humanitarian aid and development in Santiago, Chile.
- Jasmine Gipson ’24 – to study abroad (emphasis on Chinese language) in Shanghai, China.
- Lauren Hayes ’23 – to study film production in Auckland, New Zealand.
- Abigail Moore ’25 – to study abroad in Vienna, Austria (emphasis on cognitive and behavioral science studies).
- Liv Ullmann ’25 – a public health internship in Kenya and Uganda.
- Ashley True ’23 – to study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark (emphasis on cognitive and behavioral science studies).
“I’m so proud of our six new Gilman Scholars,” said Matthew Loar, director of fellowships at W&L. “As they join a growing number of Washington and Lee students who have received the Gilman Scholarship, they illustrate once again that our students make very competitive fellowship applicants. I know that time abroad can be a transformative experience, and I’m excited for what these students have in store for them.”
Since the inception of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program in 2001, more than 33,000 scholarships have been awarded to students participating in study abroad programs and internships around the world.
“The Gilman Scholarship has made it easier for me to continue pursuing my newfound passion in studying Chinese,” said Gipson. “It has been difficult to continue Chinese with my intended major of integrated engineering with chemistry and my pre-med track, but earning the Gilman has reassured me that the obstacles I’ve overcome are well worth the effort.”
For Ullman, her internship in Africa is taking her out of her comfort zone in the best kind of way.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to gain a unique cultural experience so different from the Western environment I grew up in the United States,” Ullman said. “I wouldn’t be able to pursue any form of internship abroad, much less one in Kenya, if it weren’t for the Gilman Scholarship, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to meet new friends, explore new places and widen my understanding of the public health field in a global application.”
All six of W&L’s award recipients are optimistic they will travel this summer. However, given the pandemic’s international travel limitations, the Gilman Program will support students who cannot start their programs abroad in their original destination or in the original timeframe by helping to identify alternative program options, if necessary. The program will also permit students to defer to a program through the end of 2022 or support participation in a virtual study abroad or international internship program.
“This opportunity has given me so many options to advance and venture out in my studies,” said Moore. “I would never have been able to travel abroad without the help of the Gilman award, and it means so much that I get to be a Gilman Scholar and represent what it means to be an American student abroad.”
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.
If you know a W&L member who has done great, accolade-worthy things, tell us about them! Nominate them for an accolade.
You must be logged in to post a comment.