UW Students Receive Prestigious Gilman Scholarships to Study Abroad

Eleven University of Wyoming students -- nearly double the number in the previous semester -- are funding their study-abroad experiences this spring through the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program.

This competitive scholarship is awarded by the U.S. Department of State twice per academic year to help Pell-eligible college students fund overseas study.

Since its inception in 2001, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship has been awarded to over 40,000 American undergraduates, with only a 25 percent acceptance rate. On average, 70 percent of Gilman recipients self-identify as racial or ethnic minorities; 60 percent are from rural America; and half are first-generation college students. The Gilman Scholarship contributes to the U.S. State Department’s diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts to engage all of U.S. society in foreign policy.

“The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship acts as a catalyst for UW students of high financial need to study abroad. We have seen student recipients successfully participate in programs abroad through the support of the Gilman Program that they otherwise would not have been able to afford,” says Shelley Jewell, education abroad director for UW’s Global Engagement Office who is one of 20 Gilman Advisor Ambassadors across the country. “Our UW students not only gain the opportunity to explore new cultures and languages, but also cultivate a deeper understanding of global interconnectedness -- which, we hope, fosters empathy, tolerance and the addition of a cross-cultural skill set that will enable them in their future success.”

All UW Gilman recipients are supported by the UW Global Engagement Office and the Education Abroad Office.

UW recipients, listed by hometown, are:

Basin -- Jeremy Chappell is a senior majoring in environmental systems science and minoring in environment and natural resources and honors. He will participate in a faculty-led program to Ireland this summer titled “Modern Earth Science in Ireland,” led by Professor Brandon McElroy, of the Department of Geology and Geophysics.

Casper -- Hawkins Kopp is a junior majoring in geography. He is on a semester exchange to Cardiff University in Wales.

Cheyenne -- Nolan Gerdes is a senior majoring in civil engineering and minoring in honors and outdoor leadership. Gerdes will participate in “Alpine Climate and Culture,” a faculty-led summer program that takes students to France, Italy and Austria with UW faculty member Courtney Carlson.

Louise Larrew is a senior majoring in political science and minoring in Chinese. Larrew will participate in “Honors: Asian Culture and Exploration” this summer, traveling with a group of other UW students to Singapore and Malaysia, led by UW faculty member Yan Zhang.

Liam Leslie is a senior majoring in secondary education-English and minoring in professional writing, creative writing and honors. Leslie is completing part of his student teaching experience in Gqeberha, South Africa.

Cody -- Catherine Lovera is a junior majoring in marketing. Lovera was awarded the scholarship to complete a study-abroad program this summer to Europe.

Fairfax, Va. -- Avery Fister is a senior majoring in international studies with a concentration in Europe and the former Soviet Union and governance and conflict resolution. Fister is abroad in London participating in the UW Spring London Semester.

Laramie -- Casey Comer, a freshman majoring in psychology, is participating in the UW Spring London Semester.

Pine Bluffs -- Edwin Morales is a sophomore double-majoring in criminal justice and business economics and minoring in honors and interdisciplinary law. He will embark to Austria, Belgium and the United Kingdom this summer with other UW students and faculty members Brian Cherrington and Michael Dillon on their summer program titled “The Art and History of Medicine.”

Riverton -- Isaac Almejo-Ponce is a senior majoring in entrepreneurship. He is in the United Kingdom participating in the UW Spring London Semester.

Sheridan -- Maggie Moseley is a junior majoring in human nutrition and food and minoring in honors. She will complete a full semester exchange this spring at the University of South Australia in Adelaide, Australia.