WWU Students Win Gilman Study Abroad Scholarships to Morocco, Brazil, and Nepal

Contact: Hannah Nevitt, Western Washington University International Programs and Exchanges program coordinator, at (360) 650-2174 or Hannah.Nevitt@wwu.edu

BELLINGHAM­­— Three Western Washington University students were selected among 800 American undergraduate applicants from 356 colleges and universities across the U.S. to receive prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to study or intern abroad during the spring 2015 academic term.

The Gilman Scholarships are sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The three recipients are as follows: Blanca Castillo, a Linguistics major from Okanogan studying in Meknes, Morocco for the Winter and Spring 2015 quarters; Lucero Manjarrez-Mendoza, an Economics major from Yakima studying in Florianopolis, Brazil for the Winter and Spring 2015 quarters; and Kaeli Wells, an Urban Planning and Sustainable Development major from Flagstaff, Arizona, studying in Kathmandu, Nepal for the Spring 2015 quarter. Each student was awarded $4,000 to fund their international education program.

Gilman scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad or internship program costs.  The program aims to diversify the students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go.  Students receiving a Federal Pell Grant from two- and four-year institutions who will be studying abroad or participating in a career-oriented international internship for academic credit are eligible to apply.  Scholarship recipients have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of other cultures, countries, languages, and economies -- making them better prepared to assume leadership roles within government and the private sector.

The program is administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE).  The full list of students who have been selected to receive Gilman Scholarships, including students’ home state, university and host country, is available on its website: www.iie.org/gilman.

For more information, contact Hannah Nevitt, Western Washington University International Programs and Exchanges Program Coordinator, at (360) 650-2174 or Hannah.Nevitt@wwu.edu, or visit studyabroad.wwu.edu.