Twenty-two University of Nebraska-Lincoln undergraduate students earned Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to study or intern abroad during the 2018-19 academic year.
The Gilman is a nationally competitive scholarship awarded three times a year by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Institute of International Education. The Gilman Scholarship Program supports underrepresented undergraduates who might not otherwise participate due to financial constraints and aims to encourage students to study and intern in a diverse array of countries and to study languages, especially critical-need languages.
Nebraska’s success with the Gilman Scholarship program was highlighted at an event April 2 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State.
There, U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Nebraska) spoke about the impact of the Gilman program and the success of Nebraska’s undergraduates in the program.
In 2017-18, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln set an institutional record with 34 Gilman scholarship offers and 31 students accepting. Josh Davis, interim associate vice chancellor for international engagement and global strategies, said the university achieved the greatest growth nationwide among large institutions and for first-generation college students.
Gilman scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply toward study program costs and may receive an additional $3,000 to study a critical language. Connor Mcfayden, a spring 2019 awardee, received the maximum amount of $8,000 to study Hindi in India.
Following is a list of the university’s 2018-19 Gilman scholars with year in school, major, country of study and term of study:
- Rachel Glaser, sophomore, marketing, Ireland, fall 2018
- Ryane Needles, junior, global studies, Spain, fall 2018
- Juana Paramo Reyes, senior, international business, Italy, fall 2018
- Isaac Ward, senior, civil engineering, Argentina, fall 2018
- Luis Martinez, senior, Art, Spain, spring 2019
- Connor Mcfayden, junior, environmental studies, India, spring 2019
- Alejandro Alarcon, junior, theatre, United Kingdom, summer 2019
- Miguel Avila Garcia, senior, fisheries and wildlife, Brazil, summer 2019
- Anna Burbach, junior, biochemistry, Costa Rica, summer 2019
- Martha Burns, senior, global studies, Costa Rica, summer 2019
- Diana Elias, senior, criminology and criminal justice, Netherlands, summer 2019
- Daylinn Feik, junior, advertising and public relations, Italy, summer 2019
- Misael Heras, junior, global studies, Peru, summer 2019
- Gisselle Hernandez, senior, biological sciences, Ethiopia and Zambia, summer 2019
- Jennifer Holguin, senior, nutrition and health sciences, Spain, summer 2019
- Alexis (Lexy) Polivanov, senior, fisheries and wildlife, Namibia, summer 2019
- Karen Richards, senior, theatre, United Kingdom, summer 2019
- Maria Smal, senior, theatre, United Kingdom, summer 2019
- Marlana Stephens, senior, environmental studies, Panama, summer 2019
- Addisson Stugart, junior, political science, Chile, summer 2019
- Trang Vuong, senior, nutrition and health sciences, Ethiopia and Zambia, summer 2019
- Shelena Zwiener, senior, psychology, Austria, summer 2019
