Elon students were awarded more than $55,000 in scholarships for spring study abroad programs.
The ICIC is proud to announce that Elon students have been awarded over $55,000 in scholarships for spring study abroad programs.
Three Elon students, Jasmine Whaley, Kyle Keith, and Jeffrey Williamson, have been awarded the nationally-competitive Gilman scholarship. The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship program aims to support a diverse range of students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad. The program strongly encourages students to choose non-traditional study abroad destinations, especially those outside of Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The scholarship is funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and is administered by the Institute of International Education.
Jasmine Whaley, a double-major in International Studies and Political Science from Greensboro, North Carolina, received the Gilman Scholarship. She will be spending a semester in Amman, Jordan. “I want to use this study abroad experience to further my personal and professional ambitions of becoming fluent in Arabic, and to also become an advocate for peaceable relationships between the United States and key Middle Eastern countries,” she says.
External scholarships play a large role in the ICIC’s goal of 100% access to study abroad for Elon students, as they can help to bridge the gap between what a family can pay and the cost of study abroad. Kyle Keith, a sophomore North Carolina Teaching Fellow from Mills River, NC says, “As an Elon student, it seems like everyone I meet on campus has studied abroad at some point during their time at Elon. So, it’s not really a question of “if” you will study abroad but “when.” For me, that wasn’t the case. I knew that the opportunity to study abroad was readily available, but the funding for it was not. The Gilman program has truly given me the chance to study abroad without having to worry about the added costs of extra tutition, fees, costs of living, etc.” Kyle will be spending the spring semester at the Elon Centre in Costa Rica with his Teaching Fellows cohort.
Jeffrey Williamson, who also received the Gilman Scholarship, is an art major from Reidsville, North Carolina. He will be spending the semester at the Elon Centre in Florence.
Jasmine Whaley also received a scholarship from the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), along with Benjamin Poole, an economics major from Marietta, Georgia. Benjamin will be studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Jennie Proto, a junior from Norfolk, Massachusetts majoring in anthropology and public health, and David Campbell, a junior from Milton, Delaware majoring in accounting and finance, both received scholarships from the Danish Institute for Study Abroad and will be spending the semester in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Semester at Sea also awarded two Elon students scholarships. Rebecca Cummings, a junior human services major from Ocala, Florida, and Charlie Anderson, a junior international business major from Moreland Hills, Ohio, will both be spending the semester aboard the ship.
These nine Elon students were awarded over $30,000 in total for the spring semester of 2012.
In addition to external funding, students also received support from Elon as well. The ICIC awarded more than $25,000 in scholarships to more than 30 students.
In total, 165 Elon students will be studying abroad this spring. They will be on 35 programs in 31 different countries around the world.