Bard College Students Telo Hoy ’19 and Meagan Kenney ’19 Awarded U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to Study Abroad
 

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.— Bard College students Telo Hoy and Meagan Kenney have been awarded Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to study abroad for the fall 2017 semester. Hoy, a music composition major from Santa Fe, New Mexico, was awarded $3,000 to study at the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavik. Kenney, a mathematics major from Richmond, Virginia, was awarded $4,500 to pursue studies in Hungary at the Budapest Semester in Mathematics. Hoy and Kenney are among nearly 1,000 American undergraduates from 386 colleges and universities across the United States selected to receive the prestigious award.
 
“I am very grateful that the Gilman scholarship has made it much easier for me to be able to be gaining this incredible experience,” says Kenney, who will be taking math courses and a Hungarian language course.
 
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be immersed in an unknown place and to grow both as a musician and human,” says Hoy, who will study music composition. “I’m documenting my time in Iceland with photographs and field recordings, taken both indoors and outdoors. I plan to incorporate these into my work and other collaborative projects while I am here in Iceland and when I return to the United States.”
 
Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply toward their study abroad or internship program costs with additional funding available for the study of a critical language overseas.  The Gilman scholarship supports American undergraduate students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad and, since 2001, has enabled more than 24,000 outstanding Americans of diverse backgrounds to engage in a meaningful educational experience abroad. The program has successfully broadened U.S. participation in study abroad, while emphasizing countries and regions where fewer Americans traditionally study.
 
The late Congressman Gilman, for whom the scholarship is named, served in the House of Representatives for 30 years and chaired the House Foreign Relations Committee. When honored with the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Medal in 2002, he commented, “Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views but adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community.” The Gilman Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE).
 
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) mission is to build relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through academic, cultural, sports, professional and private exchanges, as well as public-private partnerships and mentoring programs. These exchange programs improve foreign relations and strengthen the national security of the United States. ECA programs, funding, and other activities encourage the involvement of American and international participants from traditionally underrepresented groups, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities. Artists, educators, athletes, students, youth and rising leaders in the United States and more than 160 countries around the globe participate in academic, cultural, sports, and professional exchanges.  For more information about ECA programs, initiatives, and achievements, visit eca.state.gov.
 
The Institute of International Education (iie.org/) works with policymakers, educators and employers across the globe to prepare students and professionals for the global workforce and equip them to solve the increasingly complex challenges facing our interconnected world. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 18 offices and affiliates worldwide, and over 1,300 member institutions.
 
 
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 park-like acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with concentrations in more than 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 12 programs; nine early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 157-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to a liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at the main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.(8.29.17)
 

This event was last updated on 08-31-2017

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