Spelman College Announces the Selection of Eleven Recipients of the 2025 Gilman Scholarship

Eleven Spelman Students Go Beyond the Gates to Study Abroad Through the Gilman Scholarship Program

Spelman College is proud to celebrate eleven students for receiving the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for study abroad during the March 2025 application cycle. Through the program, students will be studying in France, England, South Africa, Italy, Japan, China, and Spain, all with the goal to gain proficiency in a variety of languages and cultures.

The  scholars – Anisa Richardson, C’2026, Baleigh Ford, C’2027, Cierra Barnette, C’2027, Baylor Harris, C’2026, Krystal Whyms, C’2025, Alexandria Howard, C’2028, Aniya Newsome, C’2026, Adetola Adeniyi, C’2027, Hannah Hailemicael, C’2026, Lailah Muhammad-Berry, C’2026, and Na’Taliyah Edison, C’2027 – will travel or have already traveled to seven countries through the program. This initiative supports American students in developing proficiency in diverse languages and cultures, while gaining skills that are essential to their academic and career development. Eight out of the 11 students have already been to their destinations, while three – Baylor, Howard and Muhammad-Berry – are set to travel in Wintermester 2026.

“I am very excited by the size and diversity of this year's winners, for representing a variety of academic backgrounds, diversity of geographical destinations, different lengths of study abroad program, and different areas of learning during their study abroad experience,” said Dr. Dimeji Togunde, Spelman’s vice provost for global education and professor of international studies. “The large pool of winners lends credence to Spelman's intentionality in ensuring that our students do not miss out on the golden financial assistance offered by the United States Government to promote global awareness and strengthen national security and contributes to U.S. economic prosperity.”

The scholarship, administered by Spelman’s Gordon-Zeto Center for Global Education, encourages students to study abroad to build relationships cross-culturally and develop leadership skills necessary for their prospective careers.

Almost 60% of all Gilman scholars come from small towns or rural communities across the United States, according to the official Gilman Scholarship website. There is opportunity for students to go beyond the classroom and obtain a richer academic experience in global environments without the weight of financial concerns.

“The Scholarship is inspiring for potential Gilman Scholars that study abroad is accessible and achievable regardless of a student's socio-economic circumstances or field of study,” said Dr. Togunde. “The most important thing is that students who need financial support to study abroad must create time to pursue sources of financial support provided by the Gordon-Zeto Center for Global Education at Spelman.”

To learn more about the Gilman Scholarship, please visit here.