Four undergraduate students from the University of Illinois Chicago have been awarded U.S. State Department Benjamin A. Gilman scholarships to study abroad.
The UIC recipients are among more than 1,700 undergraduate students from more than 500 colleges and universities across the U.S. selected for the honor.
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, sponsored by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, aims to diversify the group of students who study abroad and their destinations. To be eligible for the award, students must demonstrate financial need by receiving a federal Pell Grant for their studies.
Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply toward their study abroad or internship program costs. Since 2006, UIC students have won nearly 190 Gilman scholarships, totaling approximately $760,000.
The latest UIC scholars include:
- Skyla Rijos, a senior industrial engineering major from Stickney, Illinois who will study in Barcelona, Spain, this summer.
- Tania Delgado, a junior in integrated health sciences and nutrition from Chicago who is studying in Seville, Spain, this spring.
- Sean Haran, a junior in urban studies from Chicago who plans to use his scholarship to study in Tokyo, Japan, this summer.
- Sylvia Waechter, a sophomore in urban studies from Lawrence, Kansas, who is studying in Berlin, Germany, this spring.
The Gilman program is funded through the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000 and is administered by the Institute of International Education’s Southern Regional Center in Houston. The program honors former U.S. Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman of New York, who was chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee.
Visit the UIC Study Abroad Office website to learn more about study abroad and scholarship opportunities, receive updates on upcoming workshops and read testimonials from past study abroad scholarship winners.
