Georgia State Alumna Selected for Henry Luce Foundation Scholars Program

ATLANTA — Georgia State University alumna Jocilyn Gilbert (M.A. ’18) has had a longtime interest in global affairs.

As an undergraduate at Columbus State University, she studied abroad in Mexico. While pursuing her master’s degree in Africana Studies at Georgia State, she studied the experiences of people of the African diaspora in Jamaica. Most recently, Gilbert has advised on health, climate and foreign policy matters and penned policy memos addressing human rights issues in Asia and Latin America as legislative director for U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.).

Gilbert will be adding to those experiences when she travels to Asia as part of the Henry Luce Foundation’s Luce Scholars program.

“I didn’t think when I was applying to it that I would actually get it. It’s such an amazing group of folks, an amazing program and I’m so happy to be here,” Gilbert said. “Foreign policy or international affairs is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve had experiences with so many different cultures, but I’ve had very little interaction with Asian countries. Now, I’m getting a firsthand experience.”

Gilbert is one of 18 Luce Scholars selected as part of the foundation’s 50^th cohort. The program is an experiential fellowship that offers immersive professional placement in Asia tailored to the scholars’ interests and aspirations. Over the 13-month program, the scholars receive stipends, language training and individualized professional placement in Asia.

The Luce Scholars Program caught Gilbert's attention when she met with Marc Reyes, assistant director of Georgia State’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships, to talk about awards with a global perspective.

“There is nothing Jocilyn cannot do. When she wants to do something, she gets to work, and the work speaks for itself,” Reyes said.

Gilbert will be traveling to Seoul, South Korea, and hopes to work on climate policy.

“I’m really hoping to contribute to some sort of think tank, academia or research. I want this experience to be centered around the U.S. and Korea relationship and response to the climate crisis. I hope to come back with a good foundation to work on foreign policy,” Gilbert said.

The climate crisis and the environment have been a major part of Gilbert’s career as a congressional staffer. When she started her career working for the late Congressman John Lewis, Gilbert worked on policies involving immigration, which she said is fueled by the global climate crisis. For Johnson’s office, she works on climate legislation, rule-making at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and conservation efforts. Gilbert has also participated in the Wilson Center Foreign Policy Fellowship program as well as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Climate Crossroads Congressional Fellowship. Through those experiences, she has witnessed legislative gaps in actively resolving the global climate crisis.

One of Gilbert’s professors at Georgia State, Africana Studies Chair Jonathan Gayles, said he isn’t surprised she has been selected for this once-in-a-lifetime fellowship program.

“She’s always been very driven and goal oriented. She has always found a way to chart her own path and it’s always been something that has impressed me about Jocilyn. She’s had a very clear vision and she’s achieved that vision. We couldn’t be more proud of her,” Gayles said.

Gilbert is not the only Georgia State alumna selected for the Luce Scholars program. Awa Cisse, who graduated from Georgia State’s Perimeter College in 2021, has also been selected as part of the foundation’s 50^th cohort.

Gilbert and the rest of the cohort will begin their experience with the Luce Scholars program when they head to Singapore for orientation in June.