June 29, 2009
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Three Western Kentucky University students have received prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships for the fall 2009 semester.
Recipients of the study abroad scholarships are:
Christa Wright, a senior psychology major from Elizabethtown, $4,500 award for a semester-long exchange program to Kansai Gaidai in Japan.
Amanda Loviza, a senior double major in Spanish and news/editorial journalism from Midlothian, Va., $4,000 award for a semester-long exchange program in Ecuador.
Jeremy Hand-Roe, a senior political science major from Clarksville, Tenn., $4,000 award for a semester-long program in the Czech Republic.
A fourth student is currently a Gilman alternate: Kai Leathers, a senior exercise science major from Franklin who plans to study in Florence, Italy.
“I never thought I'd be able to afford to study abroad,” Loviza said. “I will not only have the opportunity to vastly improve my Spanish fluency, but I will also be participating in my dream internship while abroad. I am so thankful to the Gilman Foundation."
The Gilman Scholarship (http://www.iie.org/gilman) is nationally competitive award sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE).
“The Gilman Scholarship will impact my study abroad experience by enabling me to travel and experience a rich world of cultural diversity that would not otherwise be possible,” Wright said. “I hope to form relationships with people of all nationalities and share relationships that will last a lifetime!”
During the fall 2009 application cycle, the Gilman Scholarship Program received 1,927 applications for 850 possible awards. In the past three years, 12 WKU students have won Gilman awards.
The application deadline for the students wishing to study abroad in spring 2010 will be in October.
For information, contact Amy Eckhardt at (270) 745-2081, Jerry Barnaby at (270) 745-5334, or email study.abroad@wku.edu.
More WKU news is available at http://www.wku.edu/news/index.html and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/.
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Office of Media Relations
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1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, Ky. 42101-3576
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