Five Hamilton juniors have been awarded Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships for study abroad this spring. Recipients are Erin Bryant, Diamond Jackson, Savannah Kelly, Lynn Kim, and Maya Taliaferro.
The Gilman Scholarship Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, offers grants up to $5,000 to undergraduates for academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad. Such international exchange is intended to prepare U.S. students to assume roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world.
Hamilton students receive some of the country’s most prestigious and competitive national fellowships and scholarships.
Bryant, a neuroscience major and creative writing and German minor, will head off to Germany. At Hamilton she is a research tutor in Burke Library and served as co-president of Minds for Change, committee head for Hamilton Autism Advocates for Neurodiversity, and opinion editor for the Continental magazine. Last summer she was a counseling intern for Inspire Recovery in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Jackson, a sociology major, will study in the United Kingdom. Last summer she received an Emerson Summer Collaboration Grant for her project “A Fly in the Buttermilk: The Mental Health of Black Students on Predominantly White Campuses.” A sprinter and jumper on the track & field team, she was co-president and secretary of the Black & Latinx Student Union and has served as office receptionist for Opportunity Programs, a residential advisor for HEOP summer programs, and as manager for the football team. Jackson previously received the Woman of Color Scholarship, the IFSA First Generation Scholarship, and the Fund for Education Abroad Scholarship.
A Miami Posse Foundation scholar, Kelly is a world politics major and Africana and Latin American studies minor who will spend time in the Dominican Republic. While at Hamilton, she has served as a research assistant for the Levitt Center Human Rights Laboratory and a field operations intern for the Anthony Brindisi for Congress Campaign. Her activities also include secretary for Model United Nations, treasurer for Student Assembly, student representative for the Bias Incident Response Team and for the Judicial Board, and production editor for The Spectator.
Kim, a creative writing major and Hispanic studies minor, will study in Spain. A writer for Hamilton’s Communications office, she is on the staff of Red Weather literary magazine. In March she published “This Little Light Could Make You Feel Happier” in House Beautiful and on Yahoo News. Last summer, Kim worked as an editorial intern for Slowdown Media. She also serves as a senior digital media tutor in Hamilton's Digital Arts Lab and photography director for Signature Style magazine.
Taliaferro, a neuroscience major and Japanese minor, plans to spend the semester in Japan. On campus, she has conducted research to test the fluctuation in brain processing capabilities and works as a research tutor in the Burke Library. Through HAVOC, Taliaferro is a site coordinator for students volunteering at Brookdale Senior Living in Clinton.
