Three Juniors Awarded Gilman International Scholarships

December 15, 2015

Three DePauw University juniors -- Shajaya Martinez, Penelope Ramirez and Jessica Tilley -- are the recipients of the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, to study or intern abroad during the spring 2016 academic term. Martinez will travel to Argentina, Ramirez will study in Brazil, and Tilley will go to Greece.

The three are among approximately 800 American undergraduate students from 355 colleges and universities across the U.S. selected to receive the award. Gilman scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards 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 from two- and four-year institutions 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.

According to Congressman Gilman, who retired in 2002 after serving in the House of Representatives for 30 years and chairing the House Foreign Relations Committee, "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."

Learn more here.

The 2015 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange finds that DePauw University is ranked #4 among the nation's four-year baccalaureate colleges for the number of students studying abroad during the 2013-14 academic year, up one spot from last year, and is third in the number of students participating in short term study abroad experiences.

For eight of the last nine years, DePauw has been listed among the American colleges and universities that produce the most Fulbright Scholars. Read more here.

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