Saint Michael’s College receives another large grant from the Freeman Foundation

For the second year in a row, Saint Michael’s College has received a $120,000 grant from the Freeman Foundation, aimed at supporting international internship opportunities for students.

The 2026 grant matches the 2025 amount, which was the largest Freeman Foundation grant to date.

Saint Michael’s College is one of 33 colleges and universities in the U.S. to receive an annual grant from the Freeman Foundation. At Saint Michael’s, the grant supports the Global Citizenship International Internship Program, which enables students to be placed in an internship in Asia for eight weeks. The scholarships help offset the costs of internship placement, professional development support, travel, and housing.

Since 2019, the College has sent dozens of students to Seoul, South Korea; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Hong Kong thanks to grants from the Freeman Foundation. This summer, 15 Saint Michael’s students spent eight weeks in South Korea and Vietnam through the grant-funded internship program exploring experiences connected to a myriad of academic disciplines, from philosophy and political science to health science and environmental studies.

Interns in Vietnam funded by the Freeman Foundation during the summer 2024. (Photo courtesy of Jarrett Sweet)

The mission of the Freeman Foundation is “to strengthen the bonds of friendship between this country and those of the Far East,” through an exchange of ideas and cultural experiences, which will help create mutual understanding.

The Global Citizenship International Internship Program at Saint Michael’s is one of many programs run through the College’s Institute for Global Engagement, in addition to Study Abroad, International Student and Scholar Services, the Peace Corps Prep Program, and other international internship experiences. The Institute serves as a collaborative hub of international activity, promoting global learning and literacy, deepening intercultural competency and inclusion, and supporting opportunities for global engagement.

“The Freeman Foundation scholarship, year after year, fortifies our students’ academic and professional trajectories,” said Professor Jeffrey Ayres, Director of the Institute for Global Engagement. “Before participating in the eight-week internships each summer, many students view global engagement primarily through an academic lens or feel uncertain about traveling abroad. Our students return from these experiences profoundly transformed by their deep immersion in dynamic global work environments. We see them step back onto campus with enormous self-confidence, greater global literacy and cross-cultural empathy, and an array of career-ready professional skills that top-tier employers actively seek.”

Students who have participated in this internship program through Saint Michael’s have gone on to secure competitive post-graduate opportunities around the world, such as those through the Fulbright Foundation, in addition to placement in prestigious graduate programs across the country. The Institute for Global Engagement also supports students in applying for post-graduate scholarships, fellowships, and international job placements.

About Saint Michael’s College 

Saint Michael’s College, founded in 1904 on principles of social justice and leading lives of purpose and consequence, is a selective, Catholic college just outside Burlington, Vermont, one of the country’s best college towns. Located between the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain, our closely connected community guarantees housing all four years and delivers an internationally respected liberal arts education, preparing students for fulfilling careers and meaningful lives. Young adults here grow intellectually, socially, and morally, learning to lead with empathy and professionalism, and to be responsible for themselves, each other, and their world.