Merrill Scholar Alumni Celebrate Lives Transformed Abroad

A special gathering was held at the June 13th Board of Directors meeting, celebrating both IES Abroad’s milestone 75th Anniversary and the Charles E. Merrill, Jr. Scholarship Fund, founded by Merrill Scholars and IES Abroad alumni. During the life of the Merrill Scholar Program from the 1950’s through the 1980’s, more than 100 scholars were awarded the opportunity to pursue transformative experiences around the globe with IES Abroad. 

A panel of Merrill Scholar alumni shared the impact the scholarship and study abroad had on both their professional and personal lives, as well as how this experience inspired them to fund the current IES Abroad Charles E. Merrill Scholarship in honor of the late Mr. Merrill’s generous philanthropy. From competing academically in Europe to representing America in Franco-era Spain, each story underscored the scholarship’s power to open doors to a new world of opportunity for the talented Spelman and Morehouse College Merrill Scholar Program beneficiaries. 

The panel consisted of four IES Abroad and Merrill Scholar Program alumni whose gifts and advocacy produced the current IES Abroad Charles E. Merrill Scholarship for Morehouse and Spelman College students: 
 

• Dr. Edward L. Wheeler (IES Abroad Vienna, 1967-68)
• Ambassador Adrienne S. O’Neal (IES Abroad Madrid, 1974-75)
• Gretchen Cook Anderson (IES Abroad Nagoya, 1988-89)
• Michael Henry (IES Abroad London, Spring 2022)

Other notable attendees included Charles E. Merrill Jr.’s son, Bruce Merrill, and IES Abroad Nantes 1966-67 Alums, John O. Hodges, Ph.D., and Kathleen Diamond. Merrill shared how his father’s experience abroad in Graz, Austria and deep commitment to equality served as the force behind the scholarship’s creation. Hodges, a Merrill Scholar Program recipient himself, shared his own experience in Nantes with Diamond, recounting meaningful memories of the mentors who helped shape his life.

The IES Abroad Charles E. Merrill, Jr. Scholarship is just one opportunity IES Abroad has created to make study abroad more accessible to students. Learn more about IES Abroad Scholarships.