Three Roanoke College seniors secure Gilman Scholarships

Three rising seniors at Roanoke College — Claudia Disbrow, Noelle Ropp and Madison Edmonds — have won nationally competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships that will allow them to have life-changing educational experiences abroad.

The Gilman Scholarship is a program that awards grants to American Pell Grant recipients to study or intern abroad, providing eye-opening, mind-opening opportunities that are crucial for leadership development. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education.

"Teaching Maroons about the affordability of study away drives me in my work as director of global engagement,” said Dr. Michael Hancock-Parmer. “I get to connect eligible students with these national scholarships and then to see the look of accomplishment and gratitude on the faces of the winning students. It's a win-win situation for everyone supporting or benefiting from study abroad on our campus."

Claudia Disbrow ’26, a health and exercise science major from Richmond, Va., received an award to significantly offset the cost of her 2025 May Term travel course to Greece. She’s already put her award to use, traveling to Greece for three weeks in May with Professor Wendy Larson-Harris’ immersive May Term course, “Greek Landscape and Literature.” During the course, students read the classical Greek play, Aeschylus’ “The Oresteia,” while following the main character’s journey across several regions of Greece.

Disbrow is an honors student who is also pursuing minors in disability studies, psychology and biology, and she hopes to go to medical school. She is a member of the Roanoke College track team, competing in hammer throw, shot put, weight throw, discus and javelin. She placed second in javelin at this year's ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Disbrow said that being a track athlete in the birthplace of the Olympics held special meaning for her. 

One of her favorite experiences in Greece was visiting the statue of Asclepius, god of healing and medicine, who in Greek mythology metamorphosed from a regular man to a god that rose from the underworld. "This resonated with me not only as a future physician, but as somebody who aspires to leave a legacy," Disbrow said. "This shows that you can start as nobody, but what we do through life matters and can leave a lasting impact on others after we are gone."

She said her study-abroad experience deepened her understanding of health care across diverse populations and cultures. She plans to return to Thessaloniki for three weeks in August to participate in an international physician shadowing program. She also hopes to volunteer on the Roanoke College campus as an ambassador for study abroad and the Gilman Scholarship. 

“By showing the positive impact of studying abroad on my personal growth and fitness enthusiasm,” she said, “I hope to inspire other students to apply for the scholarship, expand their horizons and discover the world.”

Noelle Ropp ’26 is a psychology major from Broadway, Va., who will use her Gilman Scholarship to cover room and board for a fall 2025 semester in Costa Rica. Ropp is pursuing minors in disability studies and Spanish.

During her semester in Costa Rica, Ropp will take a heavy course load at the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) program in Heredia, Costa Rica, including courses in Psychology of Happiness, Human Anatomy and Physiology, and upper-level intensive Spanish. The Spanish courses will allow her to complete her Spanish minor. In her Gilman essay, Ropp wrote that she hopes exposure to a different culture will make her a more well-rounded psychologist.

“I have learned in many of my classes how a multicultural perspective is essential to the world of psychology,” she said. “I know that I want to be a good psychologist to everyone, not only those with a background similar to my own.”

Ropp, who will live with a host family in Costa Rica, also plans to take part in a language exchange program that will pair her with a native Spanish speaker learning English, and she is excited to take advantage of as many field trips and cultural events as possible. As a fun bonus, she also plans to participate in a tropical Caribbean tour and a Latin American cuisine workshop.

“I am glad that this study abroad term will help me to complete my academic requirements as well as provide a good multicultural basis for my future career as a psychologist,” Ropp said.

Madison Edmonds ’26, an environmental studies major from Danville, Va., received a Gilman to study in Seoul, South Korea, during the fall 2025 term. She also received a Critical Language Award from the Gilman program and a USAC Internationalization Award, all of which will alleviate the financial burden of her semester away.

Edmonds, who is earning a biology minor and an East Asian studies concentration at Roanoke, will study in the USAC program at Korea University in Seoul. In her Gilman essay, she wrote that she has always been drawn to South Korean culture — an interest that expanded after she spent time with three Hanji masters at Roanoke College in 2024, watched a Hanji demonstration and wrote a research paper about the art.

“This research deepened my desire to learn more about South Korea’s culture and language because of the passion the masters showed when explaining their country’s history,” Edmonds wrote. “However, it was hard to communicate with them due to my lack of Korean language, which is why I want to immerse myself into the language and learn from my new peers how to speak Korean.”

Edmonds plans to take courses in Korean language and practice her language skills in the community. She also wants to take courses in Korean politics and environmentalism, and she hopes that a class in the fauna of South Korea will support her dream to one day be a veterinarian or zoologist.

“This opportunity will enable me to explore and challenge myself beyond my comfort zone,” she wrote, “and show myself that my financial situation or background does not label what I can do, but that passion, dedication and effort can lead to achieving those goals.”