Global studies major receives Gilman Scholarship to study in Spain

KALAMAZOO—Alexandria White, a Western Michigan University senior, is one of about 700 American undergraduate students selected to receive a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for study abroad for the spring 2014 semester from a pool of applicants representing 341 U.S. colleges and universities.

Alexandria White

White, a native of Tawas, Mich., received a $4,500 award to spend the spring semester studying European perspectives on economics and business and Spanish language at Universidad de Cantabria in Santander, Spain. She is majoring in global and international studies. She also has been the recipient of the Transfer Academic Scholarship and the WMU Academic Competitiveness Grant.

Since its inception in 2001, about 13,700 students from across the nation have received the prestigious Gilman Scholarship, which provides up to $5,000 for American students to pursue overseas study for college credit. To date, 13 WMU students have received the award.

Assistance provided by WMU

White was advised and supported in applying for the Gilman Scholarship by Anastasia Kaml, Ann Ganz and Sakhi Vyas, WMU study abroad specialists, and Dr. Michelle Metro-Roland, WMU advisor for the Gilman program and director of faculty and global program development in the University's Diether H. Haenicke Institute for Global Education.

Students receiving a federal Pell Grant who are planning to study abroad are encouraged to visit iie.org/gilman to learn more about the scholarship. Eligible students interested in applying should first contact the WMU Gilman advisor at michelle.metro-roland@wmich.edu or (269) 387-5890.

Gilman International Scholarship

The scholarship program helps diversify the population of students going abroad to study and the countries and regions they choose as a destination. It is administered by the Institute of International Education and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation is a special experience for every student who participates in the Gilman Scholarship Program, says retired U.S. Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman of New York, who sponsored the legislation creating the program that now bears his name.

For more information about WMU's study abroad programs and scholarships, visit wmich.edu/studyabroad or call (269) 387-5890.