by Rod Jones
Two ³ûÖÊÓƵ students received $5,000 Gilman Scholarship awards to help fund their spring 2016 study abroad programs. Amy Smith and Jennifer Treloggen were each awarded $5,000 scholarships.
Smith, a political science major and American Indian Scholar, is spending the 2015-16 academic year in Dakar, Senegal, through CIEE. Her coursework includes French and Wolof languages and development studies.
Treloggen, a sophomore business major, Honors student and Chesapeake Scholar, was awarded a scholarship to spend the spring semester at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan. Treloggen spent her senior year of high school in Japan on a Rotary International Scholarship and will continue her study of Japanese this spring while also completing business course work in Beppu City, Japan.
The prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, received more than 2,900 applications and more than 800 outstanding students were offered awards to study abroad and participate in international internships. Gilman scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply toward their study abroad or internship program costs.
The program aims to diversify the students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go. Students receiving a Federal Pell Grant who will be studying abroad or participating in a career-oriented international internship for academic credit are eligible to apply. Scholarship recipients have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of other cultures, countries, languages, and economies — making them better prepared to assume leadership roles within government and the private sector.
Congressman Gilman, who retired in 2002 after serving in the House of Representatives for 30 years and chairing the House Foreign Relations Committee, commented, “Study abroad is a special experience for every student who participates. Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community.â€