This fall, three Colorado State University undergraduate students were awarded prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to help fund international experiences. The Gilman Scholarship aims to diversify the students who intern and study abroad, and the countries and regions where they go. Gilman recipients also must be receiving a Federal Pell Grant, with plans to study or intern abroad for academic credit.
CSU Gilman Scholarship Recipients
Bailey Holm, a senior philosophy major, applied her scholarship toward a CSU-sponsored program in Kyoto, Japan, where she is currently studying Japanese language and culture. She is originally from Colorado Springs.
CSU senior Ronnie Dukes is abroad completing a business internship in Prague, Czech Republic through CEA, a CSU-affiliated education abroad company. Originally from Monument, he also received scholarships from the Office of International Programs, CEA and the College of Business. Along with his business internship, Ronnie is also taking language and culture classes at the Anglo-American University in Prague.
Rebecca Hermann, a first generation student from Nederland, chose to study abroad in Chile because she has a Spanish minor and wanted to improve her knowledge of Latin language and culture. Rebecca is studying abroad through International Studies Abroad (ISA) at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso in the city of Valparaiso, Chile. Along with the Gilman Scholarship, Rebecca was also awarded scholarships from the Office of International Programs and International Studies Abroad.
As an environmental health major, Rebecca has experienced many of the differences between the U.S. and Chile, but has also found many similarities, too. “I have a passion for health and medical science, but feel that as an epidemiologist I would have more options to study and live abroad to be able to study different populations,” she explains. “A reason that I’m studying abroad so that I can get a taste of adjusting to living in another culture.” Rebecca also experienced the aftermath of an 8.4 magnitude earthquake that hit northern Chile. As the most seismic country in the world, Chile is constantly hit by earthquakes and its residents are used to the severe conditions. “Anything below a 7.0 on the Reichter scale isn’t even considered an actual earthquake (‘terremoto’),” Rebecca explains, “but just a ‘temblor’.”
Scholarships and Support
During the academic year, Student Financial Services partners with Education Abroad to offer financial aid advising and workshops for students who are considering going abroad on a study, research, internship or service-learning program. Hosted twice a semester, Gilman Scholarship Information Sessions provide students with specific application tips and helpful advice from experts in the application process. Advisers are also available to assist with essay development and feedback.
In addition to federal financial aid like the Gilman Award, the Office of International Programs awards more than $200,000 annually in need- and merit-based scholarships for education abroad, with the average scholarship recipient receiving $750. The Education Abroad office oversees programs in nearly every country around the world and provides support services to students, including advising, orientations, outreach, program coordination and risk management oversight.