LEXINGTON, Va. May 7, 2025 — Two Virginia Military Institute cadets, Josiah Farrell ’28 and Anderson Robles-Rodriguez ’28 have been awarded Gilman Scholarships for study abroad this summer. Both will participate in the Taiwan Huayu BEST Program and study Mandarin Chinese at the National Chengchi University in Taipei from June 2 to August 18.

Farrell, from Williamsburg, Virginia, is double majoring in international studies and Chinese. He hopes to use his learning experience abroad to better serve others in his future career. “I wish to serve as a foreign affairs officer in the Army, and later as a diplomat to East Asia. My time in Taiwan will be beneficial to my language skills and understanding the Taiwanese culture,” he stated. Farrell is a merit scholar and a member of the Institute Honors program. He is the cadet in charge of the Building BRIDGES Club and a cadet fellow for the College Debates and Discourse Program.

Robles-Rodriguez, from Sterling, Virginia, is majoring in mechanical engineering. He is fluent in Spanish and studied German in high school for three years. He believes the ability to communicate in other languages is crucial in the ever-changing job market and a necessity to meet national security needs in the military.

“When I commission into the Air Force, I can use my multilingual skills to facilitate joint operations with foreign countries,” he said. Robles-Rodriguez is a member of the Building BRIDGES Club, the yearbook club, the Arnold Air Society, and plays bagpipes in the VMI Pipe Band.

According to Col. Jeff Kendrick, director of the Office of Global Education, the Gilman Program is a competitive, merit-based scholarship funded through the U.S. Department of State to support foreign study. This year, there were over 10,000 applications nationwide for the scholarships. The Taiwan Huayu BEST Program began May 2021 and has benefited students from countries all over the world.

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE