Chloe Agenor ’27 is headed to Germany and Kevin Menendez Mejia ’28 is Africa-bound, thanks to the Gilman Program.
Since 2001, the U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program has provided merit-based scholarships to over 45,000 U.S. undergraduate students, to participate in global internships and study abroad programs.
Agenor will use her Gilman funding to participate in CC’s Summer Block Away in Berlin, taking the Hidden Spaces, Hidden Narratives Block B class with David & Lucile Packard Professor Heidi R. Lewis. The class will study the experiences of marginalized people in Germany through the perspectives of Black feminism, transnational feminism, and critical race theory.
Agenor, a Feminist & Gender Studies and Environmental Studies double major, says the scholarship gives her “the opportunity to study abroad in a program that I have dreamed of participating in since I arrived at CC.”
She is excited to explore how feminist ethics of care and collective action “complicate relationships of power by pursuing justice in conditions of injustice,” using Berlin’s Afro-German feminist organizing and liberation movements as a compelling example for study.
“As a key site of environmental justice, Berlin activists utilize intersectional approaches to climate justice and ecology, centering Germans’ lived experiences in the environment,” Agenor says.
Menendez Mejia’s award allows him to join the School for Field Studies (SFS) Kenya for the Fall 2026 semester, studying endangered species in Africa. With his peers, he will track savanna elephants in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park to create detailed behavioral ethograms, observe endangered mountain gorillas in Rwanda, and conduct directed research—developing a shareholder-driven question, collecting field data, and presenting actionable findings to local partners.
Menendez Mejia, an Organismal Biology & Ecology major, says he’s “excited to learn more about the region’s culture, language, history, and global perspectives through direct experience.”
“I’ve always wanted to work closely with animals across the world,” he says, “and by studying endangered species in Kenya, I’ll be able to get firsthand experience on how ecological processes work and see how human impacts play a role in loss of biodiversity to develop solutions on how to preserve the life on Earth.”
Once Gilman Award recipients return to the U.S., they complete a Follow-on Service Project to share what they learned abroad and build awareness about the program.
For her Follow-on Service Project, Agenor will lead a Gilman Scholarship presentation for her network of Delta Mu sisters.
“My entire college career has been dedicated to uplifting women, particularly women of color, and increasing accessibility to resources, whether it be art or academic opportunities,” Agenor says. “I am at [Colorado College] today because of the QuestBridge scholarship I received, and I want others to know that their potential should not be determined by their circumstances.”
Menendez Mejia will provide bilingual presentations and outreach for first-generation and BIPOC student organizations at Colorado Springs high schools, to “highlight the value of studying abroad, and encourage other students to study abroad if possible,” he says.
Heather Powell Browne, Associate Director of Global Education and Gilman Program campus advisor, says Gilman scholars have access to ongoing opportunities and career development support after their study abroad, “so this honor is bigger than just the check.”
Agenor and Menendez Mejia “will continue to be engaged with the Gilman Program and their cohort, to help their fellow students, which is part of what makes this competitive award so impactful,” Browne says.
The March 2026 Gilman Award cycle drew over 12,200 applicants—the highest in the program’s 25-year history—with 2,100 earning awards. Recipients come from all 50 states and will study and intern abroad in more than 100 countries between May 2026 and May 2027.
