Alexander Konigsberg, Nandini Raisurana, Abigail Smith, Caleb Silvergleid, Nora Buell, Amal Ali, Sanjna Kaul, and Jackson Sandler-Bussey.
The Jepson Scholars are (l to r) Alex Konigsberg, Nandini Raisurana, Abigail Smith, Caleb Silvergleid, Nora Buell, Amal Ali, Sanjna Kaul, and Jackson Sandler-Bussey.

Jepson Scholars go global at Oxford University

July 29, 2025

STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Eight UR graduating seniors were selected to receive a full scholarship to fund a yearlong master’s degree from the oldest university in the English-speaking world.

Alex Konigsberg has known since high school that he wanted to be a doctor. When he came to the University of Richmond, he chose to major in biology and leadership studies and immediately started working through his pre-med requirements. With graduation behind him, Konigsberg is still set to attend medical school, but first, he’s taking a detour to the University of Oxford thanks to the Jepson Scholars Program.

Open to graduating seniors, with preference given to leadership studies majors, the Jepson Scholars Program was created by philanthropists Robert S. Jepson Jr. (a 1964 UR alum who also holds a 1975 graduate degree from the Robins School and a 1987 honorary doctoral degree from the University) and his wife, Alice Andrews Jepson. The program provides a limited number of full scholarships to students interested in pursuing a one-year master’s degree at Oxford. Twenty-seven Jepson Scholars have received scholarships for graduate degrees in public policy, environmental governance, museum anthropology, pharmacology, and other disciplines, since the program's inception in 2019.

Konigsberg applied to Oxford’s new Master of Science in Health Service Improvement and Evaluation after interning last summer with Global Surgical Expedition. The Richmond-based nonprofit sends U.S. surgical teams to underserved nations to perform life-enhancing and life-saving surgeries. Konigsberg spent a summer researching the organization’s financial impact and looking for opportunities to improve its effectiveness.

The internship sparked his interest in evaluating and improving healthcare systems, which he continued to explore in his senior honors thesis. Konigsberg hopes to pursue a career in pediatrics, following in his parents' footsteps.

“In biology, I learned what a cell is and how our body gets energy, everything I’m going to use in my day-to-day job when I’m a doctor. But leadership is the study of people, and I think that’s so important in the medical profession,” he said.  

Konigsberg is one of eight recent graduates chosen as Jepson Scholars. This fall, he will head to Oxford with Amal Ali, Nora Buell, Nandini Raisurana, Jackson Sandler-Bussey, and Abigail Smith, all of whom majored in leadership studies. School of Arts & Sciences 2025 graduates Caleb Silvergleid (the first leadership studies minor to be chosen) and Sanjna Kaul (the first student not affiliated with Jepson) were also selected for the program.

Pediatric patient advocacy

Like Konigsberg, Buell is exploring the intersection of leadership and healthcare. She will enroll in Oxford's Master of Science in Applied Digital Health program. Her interest was sparked during her Jepson summer internship with the Child Life Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Buell, who also majored in chemistry, recognized the potential role that digital health could play in enhancing the patient experience. While digital health is a rapidly growing field, Buell noted that its use and study in pediatrics is limited.

She chose Oxford’s program because it focuses on the implementation and use of digital health technology, not just its development.

“I’m not an engineer or a tech person,” she said. “I’m looking into the interpersonal healthcare space, and one of my interests is patient advocacy, especially for children. I see a gap between what’s needed in digital health and what’s happening, and I want to help patients get what they need.”

Domestic violence prevention

For Abigail Smith, who studied both psychology and leadership, Oxford provides an opportunity to continue helping those who have experienced trauma. Last year, Smith worked as a peer sexual misconduct advisor and is considering becoming a counselor or therapist.

She hopes her time at Oxford will give her a broader perspective. Once she begins her studies in the Master of Science in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation program, she plans to focus on domestic violence prevention policies.

“It’s the perfect intersection of my two degrees,” she said, “because I’ll get the theoretical understanding of the social issues, but also a practical application of my leadership and research background.”

Refugees and immigration

Nandini Raisurana, who spent four years at Richmond exploring the connections between human rights, refugees, and immigrants, plans to earn her master’s degree in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies at Oxford.

“I chose leadership studies as my major because of its interdisciplinary nature,” she said. “I like how it allowed me to take classes with professors who are experts in sociology and literature, versus just political science. It helped me develop a holistic approach while focusing on specific issues that matter," she said.

"At Oxford, I’ll take anthropology, sociology, international law, and political science classes. We’ll look at the issue of forced migration through all these different lenses.”

Amal Ali and Jackson Sandler-Bussey will pursue a Master of Public Policy, Sanjna Kaul a Master of Science in Migration Studies, and Caleb Silvergleid a Master of Science in History (Medieval History).