CONNOR HOFFMAN
Staff Writer
For the first time ever, the Office of International Education is holding its a series of workshops aimed at helping Fredonia students apply for study abroad programs, and more specifically, at applying for the Gilman Scholarship. The first workshop was September 4 at 3 , and there will be ones on September 8 at 11:00pm, September 14 at 1pm and September 17 at 4pm.
Erin Willis, the Assistant Director of the office of International Education who is in charge of the study abroad program, was the presenter of the workshop. Willis’ presentation focused on what the requirements for the Gilman Scholarship are, and how to apply.
The Gilman Scholarship is a scholarship provided by the Institute of International Education (IIE), an organization that receives funding from the State Department and the Department of Education. The Scholarship is named after its creator, former New York Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman.
According to the IIE, the program’s mission is “to diversify the kinds of students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go.”
“The purpose for the Gilman Scholarship workshops is really about promoting the idea that study abroad can be affordable and can be accessible to students that might have high need,” said Willis.
Some of the groups of people the scholarship is aimed at are students attending community colleges, students from diverse ethnic background, students with disabilities and first-generation college students.
Willis mentioned that the idea behind the Gilman scholarship is to diversify the pool of students studying abroad and give a chance for students that might not traditionally be able to afford to study abroad.
There is no GPA requirement for students to apply, according to Willis, but that they must receive the Federal Pell Grant. She also explained that the application process requires students to complete two essays.
In addition to the essays, students must submit their transcripts, GPA, financial documents and information on study abroad intentions.
According to Willis, about 35 percent of Fredonia students receive the Pell Grant. She went on to say that there were about 10 Fredonia students who applied for the summer and fall sessions and one student, Darlene Cruz, won the scholarship and is currently studying in Japan.
There were about 853 students that won nationally for the fall session, and Willis’ goal is to become a “Gilman powerhouse” this year.
Students that win the Gilman Scholarship could win up to $5,000 if they’re applying for a program that is not in a country that the U.S. government considers a critical language and up to $8,000 if they’re applying to a critical language program.
“Critical languages are the ones that the U.S. government feels are important to national security. So things such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Korean — not really Spanish or French so much, ” said Willis.
The first essay that students must complete details why the student chose their program, what their goals are and why they need the Gilman money. Willis recommended that students use an anecdotal approach.
After students complete the first essay, they must complete a second essay. This second essay focuses on what exactly the students will bring back and how they will promote study abroad.
This is quite important because students are required to finish some sort of program when they return to the United States.
“The Gilman is really about promoting study abroad to students that might not have access to study abroad normally, so they want to see students that have a project on campus when they return that promotes the idea of study abroad or the Gilman. They’re looking for things such as classroom presentations, recruitment events, culture nights, or even for an education major they could talk about it in their student teaching,” explained Willis.
Willis then finished off the seminar by showing some of the tools that students could use, such as web seminars.
Danielle Munyon, a freshman psychology major who is interesting in studying abroad in Antarctica, found the seminar really interesting. She said the most interesting thing she learned “was that it’s really easy to get free money.”
Students interested in applying should be aware that they cannot receive the Gilman Scholarship if they want to travel to a county that is on the U.S. travel warning list, such as Cuba.