Twelve 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 is a program of the U.S Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE).The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program announced its first round of recipients for this academic year. Twelve students were accepted from Washington and Lee University.
This fall’s W&L recipients — the university’s largest Gilman Scholar cohort to date — included:
- Debora Abera ’27 to study health care systems in the United States, India, South Africa and Argentina.
- Mellanese Barlow ’27 to study wildlife conservation in Tanzania.
- Meagan Baxley ’26 to study business and humanities in Italy.
- Camryn Bostick ’25 to study Russian language and Armenian culture in Armenia.
- Rhonica Connor ’27 to study journalism in Barbados.
- Alicia Gonzalez ’27 to study marine ecology in Panama.
- Lucas Kim ’27 to study Portuguese in Brazil.
- Lizeth Moctezuma ’27 to complete an internship in Spain.
- Adja Ndiaye ’26 to study Arabic in Jordan.
- Jayden Pautz ’28 to study Russian in Kazakhstan.
- Nathan Stortz ’27 to study classics in Italy.
- Alexis Thompson ’27 to study in Italy.
“As Gilman Scholars, our newest cohort will study and intern abroad in 15 different countries,” said Dallas Tatman, assistant director of fellowships and visiting instructor of anthropology. “Having already distinguished themselves by their dedication to service and drive to achieve, these students will not only represent the best of W&L around the world, but they will use those experiences to strengthen and enrich our campus community. We are incredibly proud of them and know this is just the start of great things.”
Award recipients can study and intern abroad during the spring, summer, fall, winter or academic year term. Five of the 12 Gilman recipients will be using their award for summer opportunities. Eleven W&L students were awarded the Gilman Scholarship during the 2023-2024 academic year.
Adja Ndiaye ’26
An earth and environmental geoscience major and Arabic minor from Greensboro, North Carolina, Ndiaye will study Arabic in Jordan through the CET Program and is grateful to have this stepping stone for her career and to begin building connections abroad. “As a low-income and first-generation student, I’m incredibly grateful to join the Gilman community and demonstrate that opportunities like this are within reach for everyone,” she said. “This experience shows how believing in ourselves, paired with the fellowship office believing in us and working together, can turn dreams into reality.”
Camryn Bostick ’25
Bostick, a native of Hellertown, Pennsylvania, is an economics and environmental studies double major with a minor in Russian language and culture. She will study Russian language and Armenian culture in Armenia, having been introduced to the language in her first year at W&L during a class with Yulia Rubina, a visiting instructor of Russian. Bostick plans to pursue a career as an international economist and explore relationships and connections between people in other countries. She also received a Critical Need Language Award to further support her study of Russian.
Jayden Pautz ’28
Pautz, an intended politics and economics double major from Gillett, Wisconsin, will study Russian in Kazakhstan. “I fell in love with the Russian language when I started here at W&L,” she said. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to study abroad and learn from such an amazing community in Kazakhstan.”
Mellanese Barlow ’27
Barlow is a biochemistry major from Atlanta and will study climate change and wildlife conservation in Tanzania, Africa. “I am grateful for the opportunity to study abroad, obtain field experience and conduct research that will support my future career as an exotic veterinarian,” she said.
Lizeth Moctezuma ’27
Moctezuma will complete a fine arts internship in Seville, Spain, this summer. An English and studio art double major from Austin, Texas, she is looking forward to incorporating her study abroad experience into her academic interests and plans to pursue her love for the arts through a career in preservation or curation, or by continuing to make art herself. “I feel so incredibly fortunate to have received a Gilman Scholarship, especially as a first-generation student where the idea of receiving a higher education always seemed daunting,” Moctezuma said. “I am so immensely grateful for the opportunity and could not have gotten here without the help and support of our fellowship office.”
Nathan Stortz ’27
Stortz, a math and classics double major from Stony Brook, New York, will study classics at The Centro, the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome. “I am incredibly grateful for this award as it will allow me to experience a semester abroad fully and without financial constraints,” he said.
Debora Abera ’27
Abera intends to double major in sociology and anthropology and politics, with a minor in poverty and human capability studies. She will study health care systems in India, South Africa and Argentina, focusing on social determinants of health and their impact on communities. “As a QuestBridge scholar and someone who comes from a low-income background, receiving the Gilman Scholarship allows me to study health inequalities on a global scale,” she said. “I hope to pursue a career in public health policy, and this opportunity will provide me with the knowledge and skills needed to make a meaningful impact.”
Alicia Gonzalez ’27
Gonzalez will participate in the SIT Panama: Marine Ecology and Blue Carbon Conservation in the Pacific and Caribbean program. An integrated engineering major from Houston, Gonzalez will study carbon accumulation and marine ecology and is grateful for the opportunity to explore her interests in marine science.
Lucas Kim ’27
Kim, a native of Acworth, Georgia, is pursuing a major in economics and a minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. He will study Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro, where he hopes to engage with communities about the current state of the environment and what can be done to protect natural environments in Brazil. Kim plans to pursue a career in environmental economics.
Rhonica Connor ‘27
Connor, a strategic communication and English double major from Anguilla, a small island in the Caribbean, will spend the term in Barbados, taking a journalism course on reporting and communicating the climate crisis. She is looking forward to learning about innovative strategies to combat climate change and the potential to apply some of those insights to help benefit her Caribbean homeland. “Being awarded this opportunity is truly an honor and something that I will not take for granted,” she said. “This scholarship truly offers me a chance to broaden my horizons and bring valuable knowledge back to my community.”
Meagan Baxley ’26
Baxley is a business administration and philosophy major and poverty and human capability studies minor from Roanoke, Virginia. She will study business, humanities, language and art in Florence, Italy, and is looking forward to the opportunity to learn both in and outside of the classroom. “This opportunity means so much to me as someone who did not think studying abroad for a semester would be financially feasible,” she said.
Alexis Thompson ’27
Thompson will spend a semester studying in Rome, Italy, where she looks forward to immersing herself in Roman history, ancient monuments and Italian culture. A neuroscience major with a minor in poverty and human capability studies, Thompson hopes to deepen her knowledge of the ancient world while exploring Rome’s rich historical sites and pursuing an additional minor in classics. “Receiving the Gilman Scholarship is an incredible honor, as studying abroad has always been a key goal of mine and one of the main reasons I chose to attend W&L,” said the Washington Township, New Jersey native. “This scholarship not only provides the financial support I need but also opens the door to a transformative international experience. Studying in Rome will allow me to gain a global perspective that will be invaluable as I pursue my future career and personal growth.”
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 spring 2025 is March 6. Students interested in applying are encouraged to set up an appointment with W&L’s Office of Fellowships via Handshake.
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