Whether in Morrocco, Australia, Belize, Ecuador, or the United Kingdom, the six Hunter students chosen in this round of U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship will bring their keen curiosity and inclusive spirit to a host of study abroad programs.
Mayar Abdelalim ’26, Solange Arias ’26, Jafnoon Khatun ’27, Becky Li ’27, Niharika Ojha ’27, and Tasnim Sumaita ’27 showcase the talents of Hunter’s diverse student body, with roots in many different nations and interests to match. (See their bios and academic aspirations below.)
The Gilman Scholarship grants up to $5,000 (or up to $8,000 for those who plan to study a “critical need” foreign language) to students who are traditionally underrepresented in education abroad, including students with financial limitations, students with disabilities, students of color, and community college students. Applicants must have received 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 Gilman gives preference to students who have little or no experience traveling abroad, so it is especially important at an institution like ours,” said Ruth and Harold Newman Director of the Office of Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowships Stephen Lassonde. “We’re delighted with the ongoing success of Hunter students who apply for Gilman Scholarships and the opportunity it affords for study and internships internationally.”
Hunter students have won 122 Gilman Scholarships and 553 nationally competitive scholarships since the 2016–17 academic year.
The scholarships honor the late upstate Congress Member Benjamin A. Gilman (R–Middletown), who served for 30 years and chaired the House Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2002. More than 2,000 Gilman scholarships are awarded twice annually to students from all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Mayar Abdelalim ’26: Morocco
Born and raised in Egypt, Abdelalim developed an early understanding of how culture and access shape healthcare systems and patient trust, particularly in resource-limited settings. She is majoring in biological sciences, with minors in Arabic studies, chemistry, and business. She conducts pancreatic cancer research at Weill Cornell Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Despina Siolas and serves as a science tutor and mentor at Hunter’s Skirball Learning Center, where she supports students navigating rigorous STEM coursework. Abdelalim will study abroad in Morocco, where she hopes to deepen her understanding of how language, culture, and access to healthcare intersect in everyday life. As an Arabic studies minor, she looks forward to practicing Moroccan Arabic (Darija) and engaging with local communities to better understand regional approaches to healthcare.
Solange Arias ’26: United Kingdom
Born in the United States, Arias grew up in Ecuador, where she saw how communities shaped physical and mental health but also how limited healthcare and culture can influence which treatments people trust. She studies clinical psychology, with research interests in psychosis, PTSD, substance-use disorders, and emerging treatments such as psychedelic-assisted therapy and harm reduction. Her honors thesis and work examine immigrant health in relation to substance use, infectious diseases, and access to care. She volunteers at Mount Sinai, where she works with elderly patients. She hopes to earn a clinical psychology PhD and to work in settings where personal experience, neuroscience, and interdisciplinary approaches are brought to bear on treating disorders.
Jafnoon Khatun ’27: Australia
Khatun is a third-year student at Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College, pursuing a degree in psychology with a minor in physical anthropology and a certificate in human rights. She is a peer mentor for incoming freshmen, and conducts research with Professor Christopher C. Gilbert, examining mammalian and primate evolution, paleoenvironment, and paleoecology.
Growing up, Khatun dreamed of travelling the world, exploring cities, landscapes, and everything in between. The opportunity to study abroad not only accomplishes her personal and academic goals but also aids her future career goals. She intends to apply to graduate school to further her knowledge of paleontology, primatology, and biological anthropology and to become a researcher in higher academia. Khatun hopes that studying in Australia will not only broaden her academic experiences but also aid her understanding of the world.
Becky Li ’27: Belize
New York City born and raised, Li has seen how cultural sensitivity and access to care shape health outcomes in diverse communities. She is majoring in human biology with minors in psychology and sociology and is preparing for accelerated nursing.
With the experiences she gained from academic research and community engagement, she will apply her knowledge in Belize during a two‑week community health nursing internship. There, she will shadow local nurses and healthcare professionals, spending time in hospitals and rural villages alongside community health workers. She hopes to use these experiences to build a nursing career that blends knowledge with compassion, helping communities receive the care they deserve.
Niharika Ojha ’27: Morocco
Born in Nepal and raised in the United States, Ojha grew up navigating two healthcare systems and witnessing how poverty, distance, and cultural stigma shape who receives care. These experiences sparked her interest in global and women’s health and the molecular roots of disease. She studies biochemistry and economics and is driven by questions about why women and immigrant communities face persistent barriers to care.
A painter, dancer, and community volunteer, she values connection and storytelling. Ojha hopes to pursue a healthcare career that blends molecular science with culturally grounded public health work, and through the Gilman Scholarship, she hopes to study in Morocco to deepen her cultural fluency and understand healthcare in a global context.
Tasnim Sumaita ’27: Ecuador
Born and raised in the Bronx, Sumaita developed an early awareness of how tightly community, environment, and health are intertwined through witnessing the impacts of pollution on conditions including asthma and cardiovascular disease. She is majoring in human biology while pursuing a five-year bachelor-master program in health policy and management, with a focus on linking molecular biology to health equity. Her early research used patient-derived stem cells for genetic disease modeling, with a broader interest in how environmental change shapes population health. Drawn to ecology, public health, and policy, she seeks field-based experiences — for example, conservation work in the Galápagos Islands — to understand how local ecosystems and communities respond to global health threats. She aspires to become a translational scientist and public health leader and to design biologically relevant, locally informed policies which address health disparities rooted in environmental degradation.
“Hunter students see the value in expanding their horizons beyond the United States, and they receive strong support from the Gilman Scholarship,” said Sarah Craver.
