Courtesy of Spelman College
Spelman College is proud to announce that five students have been awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, a prestigious opportunity with a 25% national acceptance rate. This is the 21st year in a row that Spelman has produced Gilman Scholars.
Princess Dandoo, C’2025; Journei Savoi Ferguson, C’2026; Naomi Vivian Johnson, C’2026; Taylor Tyler Jones, C’2026; and Ysabella Lopez, C’ 2025, were selected by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) as part of this year’s 1,700-student cohort representing more than 500 U.S. colleges and universities.
“Spelman College is deliberate in developing global leaders who have choices of how they will change and impact the world and make a positive difference,” said Pamela Scott-Johnson, Ph.D., Spelman provost and vice president of academic affairs. “Being a Gilman Scholar will afford students opportunities to meet their own commitments as global citizens.”
The students will travel to Paris and London over the next year where, in addition to their academic pursuits, they will acquire invaluable cross-cultural competency skills.
“Being awarded the Gilman Scholarship is a profound recognition of the resilience and commitment that define my educational journey as a Black woman. I’m quite eager to represent the HBCU heritage globally and I can’t wait to bring this experience back to enrich my community and mentor in the U.S.,” said Ferguson, a computer science major traveling to London this fall. “I’m deeply grateful for the support along the way, and I’m excited for the positive ripple effect this experience will create, not just for me, but for those who will come after me.”
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program aims to broaden the student population that studies internationally by supporting undergraduates who have been historically underrepresented in education abroad. Gilman Scholars are encouraged to gain proficiency in diverse cultures, conduct STEM-related research abroad, and study world languages deemed important to national security.
“Receiving the Gilman Scholarship has afforded me the opportunity to extend my economic knowledge into alternative industries that are not often considered. It has allowed me to do this in the epicenter of food and wine culture in Paris, France,” said Dandoo, an economics major who recently returned from Paris, where she participated in a three-week program centered around the economics of wine. “The knowledge I have attained has sparked me to analyze the stories of Black women entrepreneurs in the wine industry—including our Spelman Sister, Theodora Lee, Class of ‘84.”
Spelman College has a long, successful track record with the Gilman Scholar program, having produced over 240 Gilman Scholars since 2002. Within the past few years, the ECA has recognized Spelman for being the top producer of racial and ethnic minority students (2016-2019), the top producer of first-generation college students (2016-2017) and for sending Gilman Scholars to the largest number of different overseas destinations (2016-2017). In 2021, the ECA recognized Spelman for having produced the most Gilman Scholarship recipients over the past 20 years out of all participating small institutions.
