Two Southwestern University students have earned prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Alexandria Glenn ’26 will be heading to Rome this summer through IES Abroad and Zaria Renfro ’28 will travel to France, Hungary, and Portugal along with the SU European Cultural Explorations program.

Through IES Abroad, Glenn will be participating in a six-week language and culture program that includes field trips, courses, and cultural events throughout Rome. While in Italy, her studies will focus on the archaeology of ancient Rome, as well as art history that centers on Rome as a living museum.

Alexandria Glenn ’26Glenn is a business major with minors in economics and classical civilizations currently residing in Orlando, FL. She is the Business Club President and Delta Delta Delta Vice President of Chapter Programming and Development. Glenn earned the Gilman-McCain Scholarship, specifically for dependents of active-duty United States military personnel.

“Paideia is woven into every aspect of Southwestern, encouraging students to make connections and fostering an interdisciplinary approach to learning that I have come to value deeply,” Glenn said. “I am incredibly grateful to study in an environment that supports the pursuit of all my academic passions, even when they do not traditionally align. My study abroad experience in Rome will connect the concepts I have explored in the classroom with the ancient sites where these ideas originated.”

Zaria Renfro ’28Renfro will have the opportunity to study in Cannes, France, Budapest, Hungary, and Lisbon, Portugal during the four-week SU European Cultural Explorations program. Led this summer by Professor of Communication Studies Valerie Renegar and Professor of Psychology Erin Crockett, SU European Cultural Explorations is an annual program that allows students to study abroad in several European countries.

Across Europe, Renfro will conduct observational and field research. Her specific areas of focus include the culture of each destination, the rhetorical effects of tourism, and cross-cultural psychology, as well as social justice initiatives in each community. A political science major and communication studies minor from Richmond TX, Renfro is the newly elected President of the Upsilon Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, as well as the Vice President of the Black Student Union and the student organization NIA.

“When I think about embarking on this new journey, I think of a quote I am very fond of: one of my favorite literary scholars Audre Lorde said, ‘There are no new ideas, just new ways of giving those ideas we cherish breath and power in our own living,’” Renfro said. “I can take the ideas and concepts I am passionate about, and not only empower my community, but also operate with purpose and intentionality in everything that I do. This has become my mantra, and I look forward to carrying this same sentiment into the research I will be doing this summer!”

The Gilman International Scholarship Program enables students receiving Federal Pell Grants to study or intern abroad, providing them with skills critical to our national security and economic prosperity. Named after the late Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman of New York, the program aims to broaden the student population that studies abroad by supporting undergraduates who might not otherwise participate due to financial constraints.

With their awards, Glenn and Renfro extend Southwestern’s lengthy history with the Gilman Scholarship. Since the program’s inception in 2001, a total of 45 SU students have now had the opportunity to study abroad thanks to the aid of a Gilman Scholarship. This marks the seventh consecutive year that at least one SU student has earned participation in the program, and the fifth consecutive year in which multiple SU students have been selected.

Through the program, Southwestern students have been able to study abroad in 32 different countries across six continents, including Australia, China, Costa Rica, India, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, and Uruguay, among others.

Supported by the U.S. Congress, the Gilman Scholarship is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and is aided in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE). To learn more about the Gilman Scholarship, visit gilmanscholarship.org.