Two Bard College Students Win Prestigious Study Abroad Scholarships for 2018
 

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Bard College student Saúl García Amezcua ’19, a joint major in Political Studies and Human Rights, was awarded a highly competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship by the U.S. Department of State to support his studies at Bard College Berlin for the spring 2018 semester. García Amezcua, a New Orleans native, is one of nearly 1,000 American undergraduate students from 386 colleges and universities across the United States selected to receive the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study or intern abroad during the 2017-2018 academic year. “Receiving the Gilman scholarship is a huge deal for me and my family. The scholarship is the only reason I can study abroad,” says García Amezcua. “My good friend Saulo pushed me to apply and helped me look for resources throughout the application process. I reached out to Jane Smith, assistant director of the Bard Learning Commons, for help with the writing portion. I am extremely thankful to them both and my family back home.”

Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards 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 25,000 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, who served in the House of Representatives for 30 years, chaired the House Foreign Relations Committee, and was honored with the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Medal in 2002, commented, “Study abroad is a special experience for every student who participates. Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also 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.”  gilmanscholarship.org

Corrina Gross ’19, an Asian Studies major with concentrations in both Chinese and Japanese, was awarded a $5,000 Freeman Award for Study in Asia (Freeman-ASIA) to study at Waseda University in Tokyo in spring 2018. “I feel incredibly honored to have received the Freeman-ASIA scholarship to help finance my semester abroad. I’m looking forward to spending three months in the vibrant city of Tokyo. Waseda University’s library is one of the largest in Japan, so I’m also excited to have access to it as I begin research for my Senior Project,” says Gross, who comes from Westhampton, Massachusetts.

The Freeman-ASIA program is designed to support U.S.-based undergraduates with demonstrated financial need who are planning to study abroad in East or Southeast Asia. The program’s goal is to increase the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents with first-hand exposure to and understanding of Asia and its peoples and cultures. Award recipients are required to share their experiences with their home campuses or communities to encourage study abroad by others and fulfill the program's goal of increasing understanding of Asia in the United States. From its inception in 2001, Freeman-ASIA has made study abroad in East and Southeast Asia possible for over 4,600 U.S. undergraduates from more than 600 institutions. With generous funding from the Freeman Foundation, the Institute of International Education (IIE) is grateful to have relaunched Freeman-ASIA in 2016. https://www.iie.org/Programs/Freeman-ASIA/About

This event was last updated on 01-18-2018

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