{"id":169835,"date":"2026-10-21T10:33:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T14:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=169835"},"modified":"2026-10-21T11:34:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T15:34:51","slug":"international-scholars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/10\/21\/international-scholars\/","title":{"rendered":"International scholars"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Three<\/a>

Three Wright State University students received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to support their study abroad experiences in Japan, Chile and New Zealand. (Photo by Erin Pence)<\/p><\/div>\n

Exploring the culture of Japan. Teaching second-grade students in Chile. Composing music in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

Those are the international study abroad experiences<\/a> of three Wright State University students selected for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, a program of the U.S. Department of State\u2019s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It has been administered by the Institute of International Education since 2001.<\/p>\n

A return trip to Japan<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely an honor,\u201d said Gilman Scholar Clayton Persinger. \u201cIt\u2019s a very hard scholarship to get. Thousands of people apply for that scholarship every year. To be one of those people to get it means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Persinger, a cybersecurity major<\/a>, spent more than two weeks in Japan as part of an ambassador program. Led by Wright State faculty members, ambassador programs provide an opportunity for students to study abroad for short periods of time.<\/p>\n

Persinger\u2019s experience began in Okayama, where he stayed with other students in a guest house owned by the Kake Educational Institution. The students visited a Japanese high school, an Imabari Shipbuilding yard, aquariums, castles and temples. One of the most memorable experiences occurred at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked to two Hiroshima survivors, which was very interesting,\u201d said Persinger. \u201cWe got to see a building that was in the initial blast, and it\u2019s still standing today.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was not Persinger\u2019s first time in Japan. He had been there twice before as part of his four-year-long service in the United States Marine Corps. As a Marine, Persinger spent most of his time in Okinawa, aside from some trips to Tokyo and a climb to Mount Fuji.<\/p>\n

The ambassador program gave Persinger the opportunity to experience the Japanese countryside and to meet American students teaching English \u2014 something he aspires to do after graduating from Wright State.<\/p>\n

He is also interested in earning a computer science degree from a Japanese university.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to be able to read Kanji [Chinese characters used in the writing of Japanese] first, and it\u2019s going to take me a couple of years to be able to read Kanji in order to learn in their classrooms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Clayton Persinger spent two weeks in Japan with an ambassador program led by Wright State faculty members. (Photo provided by Clayton Persinger)<\/p><\/div>\n

Teaching second grade in Chile<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For elementary education major<\/a> and Gilman Scholar Imani Hamilton, an ambassador program to Concepcion, Chile, offered the perfect opportunity to gain hands-on teaching experience while exploring another culture.<\/p>\n

Hamilton taught English to second graders, who predominantly speak Spanish in their own dialect. She was surprised to find several cultural differences between schools in the United States and Chile, including students addressing their teachers by their first names.<\/p>\n

Students, even as young as kindergarten, change classrooms throughout the day for their various subjects. And there are two recesses for all students, from kindergarten to high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing everyone have recess together was pretty interesting,\u201d said Hamilton. \u201cThe students are only monitored in the classroom. They\u2019re not monitored at recess. It\u2019s a gated school, so no one can get out. But they let the students do whatever they want during that time and just roam free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton stayed with a host family during her time in Concepcion.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Imani Hamilton traveled to Chile where she taught English to second grade students. (Photo provided by Imani Hamilton)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe food was the best thing, because every night they made me something that was a Chilean dish,\u201d she said. \u201cThen I got the opportunity to make them some American dishes like pumpkin pie. They don\u2019t have pancakes or fried apples, so I made them an American breakfast. It was nice to have them cook for me and then eat and cook for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton hopes to teach abroad again one day and is grateful for the Gilman Scholarship that made her first experience possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to teach abroad. To be able to experience that while I\u2019m still in school is a blessing,\u201d she said. \u201cGetting that scholarship and being a representative of both Wright State University and Gilman is an honor and a privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next stop: New Zealand<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Music major<\/a> Megan Clarke\u2019s Gilman Scholar experience has not yet begun. She will study at Massey University\u2019s campus in Wellington, New Zealand, for five months starting in February.<\/p>\n

Clarke, who wants to work in film music production, looks forward to taking hands-on classes in music composition and production and learning from industry professionals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds like such an interesting career choice, and I feel like I would never get tired of it,\u201d said Clarke. \u201cBeing able to learn how to do that in a different country would actually help a lot, because their art style is very different compared to here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarke grew up in Middletown, Ohio, where her love for music was inspired by her father, who plays the guitar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would sit with him and listen to him play. I would join along with him too, because he was also just learning,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was kind of a learning experience for both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarke began composing music during her sophomore year of high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy the process of making music,\u201d she said. \u201cSince then, I\u2019ve kind of found my style that I lean towards, and I want to expand that more to other things as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarke plays the clarinet, piano, guitar, oboe, steel drums and ukulele, and she is looking forward to learning about instruments that are unique to New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so excited,\u201d she said. \u201cMy parents are very excited about it. They tell absolutely everyone they know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without the Gilman Scholarship, Clarke would not be able to afford to study abroad. Thanks to the scholarship, she is able to explore her dream career and get outside of her comfort zone by leaving the United States for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy main worry about studying abroad was the cost. Receiving that scholarship really helped me. My entire trip is almost paid for because of the Gilman Scholarship, and I\u2019m so happy about it,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m so thankful. I made it my mission to explore more, and I\u2019m happy I get the opportunity to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From exploring Japan\u2019s culture to teaching second graders in Chile and composing music in New Zealand, Wright State students turn study abroad into opportunities to learn, grow and pursue their passions. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":169884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,4267,2104,743,4859,744,725,747,715,4295,4892,2061,2113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-computer-science-and-engineering","category-teacher-education","category-engineering-computer-science","category-fine-and-performing-arts","category-education-human-services","category-home-news-sidebar","category-liberal-arts","category-news","category-study-abroad","category-teacher-education-education-leadership","category-undergraduate","category-university-center-for-international-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169835"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":169940,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169835\/revisions\/169940"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}