This Giving Tuesday, James Madison College alumni and friends are invited to help more students take their education beyond Case Hall.
Gifts to JMC’s Experiential Learning Fund leading up to and on Dec. 1 will contribute to scholarships that offset tuition, travel, housing and other costs associated with internships, education abroad, undergraduate research and leadership development.
Below are stories from Experiential Learning Fund scholarship recipients, who share how these opportunities have shaped their path at JMC and how they're thinking about what's next.
What scholarship support makes possible
For Meghan Hunt, one of the most memorable moments of her JMC education happened inside a meeting room at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
During the International Relations in Brussels education abroad program, Hunt and fellow JMC students received briefings on NATO operations, the war in Ukraine, NATO-China relations and opportunities to work within the organization. The experience allowed the International Relations and Spanish senior to encounter firsthand an institution she had previously examined in Madison courses.
“Going from learning about it in Case Hall to sitting in a meeting room in Brussels and hearing from people so passionate about the international community is an experience I will never forget,” Hunt said.
The program also changed how Hunt imagined her future. Before traveling to Brussels, law school was the primary path she was considering after graduation. She is now beginning a Fulbright application and exploring future internships with NATO and Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE).
“This program truly showed me the variety of experiences available to me in the world,” she said. “None of these jobs would have even been on my radar without taking this trip.”
Class of 2026 graduate Bakary Toure found a different connection between his coursework and future through an internship with St. Vincent Catholic Charities. Working directly with newly arrived refugee families, the International Relations major helped people navigate essential services while building relationships across cultures and backgrounds.
“This experience reinforced my passion for public service and showed me the profound impact that I can have throughout my local community,” Toure said.
Other recipients used their awards to investigate questions they may carry into graduate study and their careers.
A trip to Mumbai and Sri Lanka through JMC's Global Development in South Asia program reinforced Class of 2026 graduate Arielle Gearring’s interest in international fieldwork and in examining how governments shape economic development. It also sharpened her goal of pursuing a legal career focused on immigration and international humanitarian rights.
For 2026 graduate Colin Reese, the field-based program in South Asia moved his study of environmental policy and critical theory from seminar rooms to farms, tea plantations and tribal villages. Reese said the program showed him “how policy lands in people’s lives” and deepened his interest in water governance and the relationships between institutions and communities.
He is now enrolled in a graduate program in Resource Conservation at the University of Montana, where he is studying drought and water governance.
Junior Alexis Auten’s education abroad program in England changed not what she hoped to pursue, but where she imagined pursuing it. Auten, who studies International Relations and Politics, Rights & Culture, had always intended to earn a master’s degree but had considered only programs in the United States. After studying in England, she began exploring universities and careers overseas.
“Without the experience of studying abroad, I would never have gained the confidence and perspective to pursue a degree outside the U.S.,” Auten said.
Together, these students returned with different next steps: a Fulbright application, a stronger commitment to public service, a graduate research agenda and new possibilities for careers in law and international affairs.
William Kuhl completed an internship in D.C. with Senator Elissa Slotkin's office in D.C. as a JMC sophomore. For him, the value of the financial assistance was straightforward: his internship allowed him to apply his studies of policy and social relations while seeing the legislative process firsthand.
“Because of this scholarship, I was able to take part in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see how our great legislative body functions firsthand,” Kuhl said.
JMC’s 2026 Giving Tuesday goal is to raise $10,000 for experiential learning scholarships. Give any time leading up to or on Dec. 1 to help us reach that goal.