Comparatist Ben Gregson (Br’21)’s nontraditional experience as a Thouron Scholar has had a profound influence on his career. Although the pandemic necessitated an unexpected gap year before moving to Philadelphia, Ben still managed to build relationships with fellow Alumni while working at The Judd School. A year later, he completed his master’s as a step on the way to his current doctoral studies in Comparative Literature at Harvard.
“I had a strong inkling that the U.S.A. would be the place for me to pursue my graduate studies as a comparatist. Comp Lit is much more developed as a field in the States than it is in the U.K. — something I hope to change,” Ben shares. Growing up in Kent, Ben attended The Judd School in Tonbridge. From there he went to the University of Oxford and studied Classics and English at Lady Margaret Hall College.
As a Thouron Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, Ben studied in the master’s programme for English Literature at the School of Arts and Sciences. “I’d never been to America before and was daunted by the notion of committing to a 6-year doctoral programme in case I hated it!” says Ben. “I saw the Thouron as a way to try-before-I-buy both American grad school and life in the U.S.A. more generally.”
Still in the U.S. five years later, he clearly wasn’t put off.
Unprecedented Times for Study Abroad
Upon completing his bachelor’s, Ben learned how few terminal master’s programmes there were in the Humanities. Due to high tuition costs, Ben also knew he wouldn’t be able to pursue one of those programmes without considerable support. In the end, it was his undergraduate advisor and British Thouron Alum, Christine Gerrard (Br’80), who suggested our Award to Ben.
“Once I looked into it, I knew it was exactly the right thing. I loved that it was so much more than financial support and would provide a unique and holistic experience both during my time at Penn and long after. It’s just one of the many ways Christine has been and continues to be an inspiration and mentor to me,” Ben states.
But COVID would complicate Ben’s Thouron journey. Alongside the usual obstacles which accompany moving to the U.S. came travel bans and lockdowns. The Thouron Family was instrumental in helping Ben and his fellow Scholars navigate that difficult time. Ben recalls: “I’ve always grown up pretty family-oriented and I wasn’t overly keen on being an ocean away from them. But Rachel, Rupert, Jan, Emily, and Hannah from the family and Jennie, Toni, and Harriet from the Award were all there for us and have been ever since.”
With this emotional support, Ben felt comfortable asking to defer his Award given the unprecedented circumstances. While our Award does not typically allow deferrals to ensure cohorts begin their studies as a cohesive unit, the uncertainty surrounding travel and the general reality of living during a pandemic outweighed procedure.
The pandemic was a difficult time for many, but in its own way was formative for Ben. “I was lucky to get a job as a Learning Support Assistant at Judd [School] where I spent most of my time supporting 13 year old boys with diagnoses of autism, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. I had some experience teaching before, mostly tutoring Latin and English, and teaching classical guitar — but this was a whole new kettle of fish: to be teaching all day every day, across multiple subjects, whether in a classroom or one-on-one, and adapting teaching methods to each student depending on their specific needs.”
Alongside his work at Judd, Ben helped run his local youth theatre, gaining a newfound respect and love for teaching and the pride that comes from seeing students’ progress. This time furnished Ben with invaluable experience and perspective for his undergraduate teaching and aspirational academic career.
Life in America as a Thouron Scholar and Beyond
For over half a century, our family has been honoured by the calibre of applicants to our Award and the impact we have had on the lives of such brilliant and creative minds. Despite the delay, Ben’s experience was no different. He recalls not only how his experience at Penn was enhanced and supported as a Scholar, but also how the Award’s generosity allowed him to travel widely throughout the U.S. during his Thouron year. While prioritising his studies, Ben still managed to visit California, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Virginia, Massachusetts, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada, as well as exploring much of Pennsylvania. “My parents were even able to come and visit Philadelphia and travel parts of the North West with me, and it was great to be able to share that experience,” he says.
After graduating from Penn, Ben began his doctoral work at Harvard with a research focus on theories of time and the idea of antiquity in French, English, and Creole literatures of the Caribbean. He is a Teaching Fellow for Humanities 10, where first-year undergraduates survey texts from Homer’s Odyssey to Joyce’s Ulysses alongside authors like Plato, Shakespeare, Schiller, and Woolf. In addition to his teaching, Ben has also published articles on the Caribbean writers Claude McKay and Derek Walcott. He has an article forthcoming on multilingual Babylonian tablets in the Journal of World Literature and is also currently the Managing Editor of Oral Tradition.
Ben has continued to engage with and draw inspiration from the Thouron community since leaving Philadelphia: “I think that meeting so many of the Alumni who have had such varied careers has actually given me a real confidence that I will be able to succeed in my own career and be happy with my life whatever I end up doing. I’m pretty committed to pursuing an academic career path at the moment. But it’s an incredibly competitive market and so much is outside of your own control.”
“I’ve stayed in touch with a number of my peers from my cohort, both in the U.S. and the U.K,” he continues. “It’s been great to see where the Award has taken them, from periodontics in L.A. to the civil service in London. I remember chatting with John Berry (Br’60) [and] among the many sage nuggets of wisdom he shared was that following your passions seldom leads you to a bad place. I’m holding on to that while I finish my PhD before heading towards pastures unknown.”
Building Community with the Alumni Symposium
It was while attending the 60th anniversary celebrations and crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary II that Ben met Bea Brown (Br’17), who spearheaded our inaugural Alumni Symposium in early 2025, enlisting Ben’s help as a co-ordinator. “Having a whole week [on the boat] to spend hours and hours really getting to know each other just led to different kinds of conversations and allowed much deeper connections to form,” says Ben. “I wanted to recreate that and I know that the family did too and I think that’s what gave everyone the momentum to get this event started.”
The inaugural Symposium was a real success. Ben highlights the connection he made with Daniel Nieh (Am’06), whose approach to teaching creative writing has helped him with his own undergraduates. He also remembers how much the Alumni enjoyed the creative workshop led by Casey Thomas-Boyles (Br’10), and is excited to take part himself as she leads another during the second annual Symposium in February 2026.
With fascinating conversations guaranteed at any Thouron events, Ben says he felt like connecting with fellow Alumni at our first Symposium was the best kind of networking because “it didn’t feel mercenary or transactional.” But the highlight for him was the afterparty on Saturday night: “One thing I love about the Award and the Alumni community is that Thourons know how to party. I can’t think of many communities where you know everybody will hit the floor whether they’re 26 or 86 — it’s a really special thing.”
Guided by this joy in building community, Ben has also helped co-ordinate our next Symposium, to be held 6–8 February, 2026 at The Rittenhouse in Philadelphia. The schedule includes a welcome reception, keynote talks and moderated discussions, panels and workshops, a formal dinner, and more.
For Ben, the best part of the planning process has been researching the Alumni community to find speakers for the various panels and keynotes. “It’s staggering to see what Thourons go on to achieve across the full gamut of disciplines and professions,” he says. “Everyone who I’ve contacted has spoken so fondly of their memories either at Penn or in the U.K. and has been so keen to help out even if the dates didn’t work out that particular year.”
As for his hopes for the future of our Award, Ben is invested in making the Alumni network “even more vibrant and self-sustaining.” He believes it would be wonderful to host events like the Symposium beyond the London and Philadelphia locations, “to become almost a retreat-style thing — a castle in Wales, a mountain lodge in Tennessee; something about switching up the environment I bet would prompt different conversations and connections to be made.”
We’re sure Sir John and Lady Thouron would be very proud to see not only how Ben’s life was shaped by his time with the Thouron Award, but also his commitment to giving back through the Alumni community.
What Could Your Future Look Like as a Thouron Scholar?
Learn more about the Thouron Award — one of the most prestigious and generous academic scholarships in the world, offering funding and cultural exchange between the University of Pennsylvania and U.K. institutions.
Applications for the Award are open from July to October each year for candidates from Penn and July to November for U.K. candidates.