Eight Jepson Scholars head to Oxford
Since its founding in 2019, the Jepson Scholars Foundation has offered a limited number of graduating seniors all-expenses-paid scholarships to University of Oxford master’s programs. The 2025 Jepson Scholars are Amal Ali, Nora Buell, Sanjna Kaul, Alexander Konigsberg, Nandini Raisurana, Jackson Sandler-Bussey, Caleb Silvergleid, and Abigail Smith.
As a leadership studies and political science major, Ali explored public health policy through internships with the Virginia General Assembly and the Virginia Department of Health and researched American foreign policy toward Israel and Palestine through her Jepson honors thesis. Now she is pursuing a Master of Public Policy.
Buell, who majored in leadership studies and chemistry, is earning a Master of Science in Applied Digital Health. She completed her Jepson internship with the Child Life Department of New York’s renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she developed an interest in using digital applications to improve pediatric health outcomes.
As a Humanities Fellow at Richmond, Kaul conducted research on global South Asian diasporas. She analyzed India’s diaspora engagement policies in her final thesis for her global studies major. Inspired by her personal and academic engagements with labor-based migration and international policymaking, she is pursuing a Master of Science in Migration Studies.
Konigsberg, a leadership studies and biology major, became interested in health evaluation while assessing the impact of the work of Global Surgical Expedition during his Jepson internship with the Richmond-based nonprofit. Now he is pursuing a Master of Science in Health Service Improvement and Evaluation and eventually plans to become a pediatrician.
From left to right: Jepson Scholars Alexander Konigsberg, Nandini Raisurana, Abigail Smith, Caleb Silvergleid, Nora Buell, Amal Ali, Sanjna Kaul, and Jackson Sandler-Bussey
As an undergraduate majoring in leadership studies and political science, Raisurana explored international human rights by researching Myanmar’s Rohingya refugees, attending the 2025 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, and interning in Washington, D.C., with the Wilson Center’s Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative. At Oxford, she is earning her Master of Science in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies.
A Virginia General Assembly internship exposed Sandler-Bussey, a leadership studies and global studies major, to state-level public policy. He delved into foreign policy during three study abroad programs, as editor-in-chief of a student-run journal on international politics, and through his Jepson independent study on the rise of Europe’s radical right. Now he is earning a Master of Public Policy.
Silvergleid, who majored in history and philosophy and minored in leadership studies and law and the liberal arts, is obtaining his Master of Studies in History (Medieval History). At Richmond, he was president of both a professional law fraternity and of Mock Trial and wrote a history honors thesis on medieval law under the Assizes of Romania.
Smith, a leadership studies and psychology major, investigated trauma by volunteering at a juvenile detention center, completing her Jepson internship at the Virginia Victims Assistance Network, and researching intimate partner conflict and masculinity for her undergraduate honors thesis. At Oxford, she is pursuing a Master of Science in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation with the goal of understanding how public policies can mitigate trauma.Leadership in action
Social justice advocate
The school bestowed its highest honor, the James MacGregor Burns Award, on Christian Herald, ’25, in recognition of her academic and leadership excellence. While attending Richmond on a full merit-based scholarship, Herald served as president of the Black Student Alliance and as founder and editor-in-chief of Counterculture Magazine, a student-run social justice publication. The Truman Scholar finalist explored social belonging in higher education through her honors thesis and anticipates a career as a civil rights lawyer.
Public health researcher
Craig Caudill, ’25, recipient of the school’s annual Fredric M. Jablin Award for Undergraduate Research, presented portions of his honors thesis, “Beyond the Factory Walls: Black Tobacco Labor, Civil Rights, and Public Health in 20th-Century Richmond, Virginia” at the American Heart Association’s International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles in February. He received a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Michigan School of Public Health to pursue a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology.
The Jepson internship: Applying theory to practice
“Corporate sustainability calls to me, because I think it is the most consequential. I will do what I can to contribute to sustainability through my career and my community.”
As a Virginia Governor’s Fellow, Jacob Ellis worked in the office of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s chief of staff, a dream internship for a senior with a long-standing interest in public policy and governance. This fall, he heads to Duke University to pursue a Master of Public Policy.
“The internship gave me an all-encompassing view of the executive branch.”
Leonel Azuela deepened his understanding of health care administration during his CVS Health internship. He accepted a full-time return job offer from CVS Health and will spend the next three years moving through rotations in its General Management Development Program.
“The skills I gained in my internship — particularly in leadership, data analysis, and professional communications — prepared me for future leadership roles in the health care industry.”
During her internship with the City of Richmond Office of Sustainability, Lay’la Harmon witnessed firsthand the connection between city planning and racial and environmental disparities. This fall, she will enroll in a master’s program in city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I want to go into city planning to mitigate the kinds of disparities found in many cities.”
Her Jepson internship at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences gave aspiring art curator Alexandra Gramuglia valuable experience. She built on that experience her senior year by serving as the curatorial fellow at the University’s Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art and as a modern and contemporary art curatorial intern at the nearby Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
“I am passionate about fine arts curation, feminist art history, and ethical installation practices.”
Study abroad explores leadership in international contexts
Globe-trotting Spider explores human rights
Daniel Polonia, ’26, traversed Nepal, Jordan, and Chile during a transformative study abroad program focused on human rights.
“By going to places where human rights are in the forefront, I saw leadership being built from the bottom up to address these issues.”
Jepson at Cambridge
Eleven undergraduates, including seven Jepson students, took classes in international law and U.K.-U.S. comparative law through the school’s signature summer study abroad program, Jepson at Cambridge. In their free time, students enjoyed punting on the River Cam and taking weekend excursions to London and Scotland.
Gilman Scholar
The U.S. Department of State awarded Lay’la Harmon, ’25, a competitive Gilman scholarship to study in La Rochelle, France, during the summer of 2024.
Intercollegiate competitions foster top leadership skills
Left to right: Claire Bruton, Camden Thomason, Calvin Ciorba, Shefali Kamilla, and Bennett Slosman (not pictured), all class of 2025, placed second out of 18 teams in the APPE Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Online Regional Competition on Nov. 23.
Student research advances leadership studies
