Five Ohio State students have been awarded the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Gilman Scholarship contributes to the Department’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts to engage the American people in foreign policy. On average 70 percent of Gilman recipients self-identify as racial or ethnic minorities, 60 percent are from rural areas and small towns across America, and half are first generation college or university students. All are Pell Grant recipients.
Keilah Thompson, a communication major, is studying on the Between France and Morocco: Diversity in the Francophone World program in summer 2023.
"I'm so grateful to be a Gilman Scholar and have the opportunity to study abroad. When I was a freshman, I never thought of studying abroad as an option. I'm looking forward to how Between France and Morocco will help broaden my perspective on culture and identity," Thompson reflects.
Theater major Jamie Harper is studying on the Czech Theatre and Culture program in summer 2023.
"I am an unconventional returning adult learner. Coming back to school while still raising children and maintaining a household has been challenging in many ways. This scholarship has validated my choices and will underpin my continuing efforts as the research I will be engaging in abroad will be included in my senior capstone Honors Distinction project. I'm so humbled and grateful to be amongst such a prestigious and talented group of students," Harper shares.
An environmental science major, Emma Lesiecki is studying on the New Zealand: Sustainable Tourism & Human Impact on the Environment program in summer 2023.
“I am so incredibly honored to receive such an amazing scholarship! The Gilman International Scholarship has helped relieve the financial stress of traveling abroad and has helped connect me with other passionate travelers. This award has allowed me to focus on my travels and studies, and has made my study abroad experience so amazing,” Lesiecki exclaims.
Natalie Decuir, a middle childhood education major, is participating in the Global May Korea program in summer 2023.
“I am so honored and grateful to have received this award. Without the Gilman Scholarship, taking the opportunity to study abroad would have been very difficult for me to do. Being able to study abroad will allow me to grow as a person and learn new insights on the culture and history of South Korea, which thanks to the Gilman Scholarship I am able to do,” Decuir shares.
Todd Matthew Chandler, a linguistics major, is studying Mandarin in Taiwan in summer 2023.
“Having never traveled abroad and having insufficient savings to do so, the Gilman Scholarship is providing me vital preparation to eventually work as an ethno- or sociolinguist by sending me to Taiwan to study Mandarin immersively. I am surprised and immensely grateful for my selection for this prestigious scholarship, and I am hopeful and excited for the trip ahead,” Chandler shares.
This cohort of 2,100 Gilman scholars will study or intern in over 80 countries and represents over 520 U.S. colleges and universities in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Since the program’s inception in 2001, more than 38,000 Gilman Scholars from all U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories have studied or interned in more than 160 countries around the globe. The Department of State awarded more than 3,600 Gilman scholarships during the 2022-2023 academic year.
The Gilman Scholarship is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and is supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE). To learn more about the Gilman scholarship, and its recipients, including this newest cohort, visit gilmanscholarship.org.