Record-tying five UTC students land prestigious Gilman international scholarships

From left: UTC Gilman Scholarship recipients Ashlyn Roberson, Bailee Fiste, Bryce Sanders, Kamila Vargas and Kylie Knott

Five University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students will get the opportunity to study overseas after being selected as recipients of the nationally competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

The U.S. Department of State’s Gilman Scholarship Program was created to enable students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, providing them with skills critical to national security and economic prosperity. To be eligible for the Gilman Program, applicants must be receiving a Federal Pell Grant during the time of application or provide proof that they will be receiving a Pell Grant during the term of their study abroad program or internship. The Institute of International Education has administered the program since its inception in 2001.

The five UTC students receiving Gilman Scholarships:

Rising junior Ashlyn Roberson will spend the fall 2024 semester studying abroad at the University of Salamanca in Spain.
Rising junior Bailee Fiste will be heading to Japan.
Rising senior Bryce Sanders will be traveling to Europe to visit the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria.
Rising junior Kamila Vargas will be studying in Alcalá, Spain.
Rising senior Kylie Knott will spend six weeks in Florence, Italy.

The significance of the Gilman Scholarship, named after former Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman—a staunch advocate for international education—lies in its ability to make global experiences accessible to a broader range of students. By covering travel, tuition and living expenses, the scholarship removes financial obstacles and allows recipients to immerse themselves in new cultures, languages and academic pursuits.

“Unfortunately for many students, studying abroad is not possible largely because of cost issues,” said Dr. Trey Straussberger, director of the UTC Office of National Scholarships. “The Gilman is a way to broaden the number of American students, broaden the profile of American students who decide to study abroad and create that intercultural exchange between American students and students in other countries.

“Studying abroad can be a transformative experience. Many students who haven’t left the region are able to go overseas and experience a different culture, live in a different country and study at a different university. It can have lasting impacts.”

He said this is only the second time that five UTC students have been selected for Gilman Scholarships in the same cycle.

In its spring 2024 cycle press release, the Department of State announced that it had awarded the Gilman Scholarship to approximately 2,100 American undergraduate students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This cohort of Gilman scholars will study or intern in over 90 countries and represents more than 500 U.S. colleges and universities.

The announcement also stated that half of Gilman recipients are first-generation college or university students, 60% are from rural areas and small towns, and 70% self-identify as racial or ethnic minorities.

After Straussberger joined UTC in January, he said he made spreading the word about the Gilman Scholarship a priority.

“Oftentimes, winning the Gilman sends students on a path where they’ll win larger and more significant scholarships later on,” Straussberger said. “I worked very closely with the Center for Global Education in order to help students apply for the award.

“We had 16 applicants this year and five won. That’s above the average success rate, which is in the mid-twenties. I really have to thank the Center for Global Education for their dedication to advising students, sending them to my office and working on their applications together.”

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Ashlyn Roberson

Roberson, majoring in both Spanish and integrated studies (art history and philosophy), will spend a semester at the University of Salamanca in Spain after landing the John S. McCain International Scholarship for Military Families (Gilman-McCain Scholarship)—a congressionally funded initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State which provides awards of $5,000 for dependents of U.S. military personnel.

“My father (Jeremy) recently retired from the Army after serving for 20-plus years, so when I learned about the Gilman-McCain, I was like, ‘This is fantastic.’ I really wanted to study abroad, but the cost of the programs was very high; I needed some financial help to fund it,” said Roberson, a 2022 graduate of Ringgold (Georgia) High School.

“I’ve probably moved about 12 times in my almost 21 years of life; more than half of that was because of the Army and my dad being stationed in different places. We had to relocate quite a few times, so that played a large role in me wanting to travel.”

Roberson will be sharing her study-abroad experiences and adventures on her newly created website, ashlynroberson.com, with plans to provide both written and video posts.

“Studying abroad has been on my bucket list for forever. It’s always been a dream of mine,” she said. “My mom (Mandy) and I have always talked about traveling the world together, so I finally get to do it.

“She’s going to come with me to help me get squared away and do a little bit of sightseeing on our own before my program starts Aug. 31.”

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Bailee Fiste

Fiste is majoring in humanities: international studies with a minor in communication. She attended White County High School in Sparta, Tennessee, where she was salutatorian in 2022.

The opportunity to study in Asia, she said, is particularly meaningful to her.

“I am adopted from China,” Fiste said, “and growing up in Sparta, Tennessee, there wasn’t a lot of diversity; the only other Asian I would come across would be my sister (Mikki), who was also adopted from China. That opened up the door for a lot of bullying and insecurity and stuff like that, so I struggled with my self-confidence and being who I was. I found myself wishing I would have lighter hair and lighter eye colors just to look more like everyone else.”

Fiste said she discovered other Asian cultures during her middle school years, “one of them being Japanese—such as their fashion, their music, their shows and all of that. It was a whole new world for me because it was just like, ‘Wow, these people are being praised for the way they look—their fashion and the makeup and the singers … that really helped me accept my Asian features.

“I had always felt a disconnect from my heritage, so going to Japan really means a lot to me—just to be around people who also look like me, who have the same interests as me, who know what it means to be Asian.”

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Bryce Sanders

Sanders, majoring in psychology with minors in criminal justice and sociology, said he never thought that studying abroad would be an option for him.

“I’m from a really small town, so the big thing with this opportunity is getting the chance to understand other cultures,” said Sanders, who attended Lawrence County High School in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. “I feel that it’s easier to expand on what I can learn when you go overseas. You expand your horizons with all the places that you can see.”

Before winning the Gilman, the longest flight he had been on was to Boston. Now, Sanders has a transatlantic flight on his portfolio; he’s already in Europe, having received notification of his award just 10 days before the departure date.

“I feel like it hasn’t really hit me yet,” he said two days before traveling. “I’ve planned and all of this, but I don’t think I’ll really feel like it’s happening until I’m actually there and I’m like, ‘Whoa. I’m in a whole different country hours and hours and hours away from everything I’ve ever known.’

“I’m so excited that I actually get to experience this.”

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Kamila Vargas

Vargas said landing a Gilman Scholarship to Spain and getting the opportunity to spend two months at the University of Alcalá “worked out on so many levels.”

A graduate of Cocke County High School in Newport, Tennessee, Vargas will be participating in a two-month program taking place from June 3 through July 30. She credited UTC Professor of Spanish José-Luis Gastañaga and Director of Study Abroad Programs Laura Livermore for their assistance.

“I have family that is Hispanic, and Professor Gastañaga knew that I wanted to study abroad,” Vargas recalled. “He was talking about how there was a lot of funding for scholarship programs and then he told me about the Gilman.

“Laura Livermore then helped me figure out the next steps of what I needed to do and all of that. So they were both super helpful.”

Vargas is a Brock Scholar in the UTC Honors College, majoring in nursing with a minor in Spanish. Being a nursing major, the schedule is rigorous, “and we can’t miss a day of clinical without making it up,” she said. “If I wanted to study abroad or do anything like that, it would have to be in the summer.”

She said that traveling to Spain would be particularly beneficial. Both of her parents are bilingual; she’s not, “but I’m getting there.”

“In the health care system, every day I see a lot of people that just don’t have the translation skills,” Vargas said, “or people who can’t communicate. If I was having a baby, I would want someone who can understand me who’s delivering my baby.

“That is what pushed me to want to help people, become bilingual and go to Spain. I was really interested in going to a Spanish-speaking country because of that.”

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Kylie Knott

Knott, who is majoring in psychology with a minor in sociology, plans to pursue a career in art therapy. Spending six weeks studying in Florence, Italy, where she will see the works of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Donatello and others for her first international excursion, is “an amazing opportunity.”

“I chose Florence specifically because I’ve always been super passionate about art and traveling,” said the graduate of Independence High School in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee. “I also want to be an art therapist, so I felt like this is really going to build my career journey and get me a lot of experience.”

Art therapy, she said, helps people express themselves and their emotions through forms of art—rather than just words.

“I feel like (Florence) is the perfect spot for me,” Knott said. “It’s going to be new and exciting and it’s going to push some boundaries for me.”