UW Students Studying Abroad with Gilman Scholarships

University of Wyoming students continue to receive federal funding to take their education overseas! In spring 2024, eleven UW students were awarded scholarships by the U.S. Department of State to study abroad this summer and in the upcoming fall 2024 semester. Of the complete applications submitted by UW students for this highly competitive award, 58% were selected.
 
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) awards undergraduate students the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship each year on a competitive basis. 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 or university students. The Gilman Scholarship contributes to the Department’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts to engage all of U.S. society in foreign policy.
 
Shelley Jewell, Director of UW Education Abroad, serves as a National Gilman Advisor Ambassador. Jewell states, “The Gilman Scholarship program opens doors to a world of opportunities for our UW students who may not have the means to study abroad otherwise. Receiving these scholarships is a testament to our students’ dedication and potential to achieve. We are thrilled to have eleven recipients this round, and we know the opportunities abroad that await them have the potential to transform their lives, broaden their horizons, and create a foundation for global citizenship.”

Jewell teams up with Dianne Thompson, Education Abroad Prestigious Scholarship Advisor, to provide wraparound support for Gilman applicants before, during, and after the student study abroad programs. They spend hours advising students and reviewing essays to ensure that applicants have strong and complete applications to submit.
 
Dr. Isadora Helfgott, UW Vice Provost for Global Engagement, reiterates the prestige of the Gilman Scholarship Award. "Having eleven students selected to receive the Gilman Scholarship is a real feather in our cap for the University of Wyoming. This is a very competitive process in which UW students compete with peers from all around the country. To be selected, they have to articulate why they want to study abroad and how the experience will enhance their Laramie-based education. The commitment of each of these Gilman Scholarship recipients shone through every one of their essays. I can't wait to hear their reflections on all they've learned after they've been abroad."

UW recipients are: 
 
Autumn Wright (Big Piney) – Autumn is a junior with a major in Psychology and a minor in Disability Studies. She will complete the UW faculty-led program “Healthy Aging in Italy” in summer 2024, led by UW Casper Faculty members Dr. Maria Kuznetsova, of the Psychology Department and Greta Maxfield of the Division of Social Work.

Carissa Bjorklund (Casper) – Carissa is a senior majoring in Criminal Justice and Psychology with a minor in Gender and Women’s Studies. She will complete the UW faculty-led program “Healthy Aging in Italy” in summer 2024, led by UW Casper Faculty members Dr. Maria Kuznetsova, of the Psychology Department and Greta Maxfield of the Division of Social Work.

Alexa Rizzuto (Cheyenne) – Alexa is a senior majoring in History. She will participate in the summer 2024 faculty-led program “Environmental Aesthetics in Italy”, led by Dr. Jeffrey Lockwood, a UW professor in the department of Philosophy & Religious Studies.

Jacob Westover (Cheyenne) – Jacob is a senior majoring in Psychology. He will participate in the UW 2024 Fall Rome Semester program, which is a semester-long faculty-led program in Rome, Italy. This program is led by Dr. Conxita Domenech of the UW Department of Modern & Classical Languages. 

Lisa McBride (Cheyenne) - Lisa is a junior Psychology major. She will complete a semester-long exchange at Ulster University in Northern Ireland with ISEP, a UW program provider. She will study for the entire Fall 2024 semester in the United Kingdom.

Ireland Earl (Laramie) – Ireland is a junior majoring in Communication and minoring in Honors. She will complete the “Semester at Sea” program in Fall 2024. This program includes classroom time on a boat, and docking at several different countries throughout the semester, including France, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Morocco, The Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Joseph Brasher (Laramie) – Joseph is a junior majoring in Spanish and minoring in Music. He will complete the API Summer Intensive Spanish Language Studies in Buenos Aires in summer 2024. He will study in Argentina for nearly 3 months.

Lynnea Taylor (Laramie) – Lynnea is a junior majoring in Finance. She will participate in the UW 2024 Fall Rome Semester program, which is a semester-long faculty-led program in Rome, Italy. This program is led by Dr. Conxita Domenech of the UW Department of Modern & Classical Languages.

Michael Vitanza (Pinedale) – Michael is a senior majoring in Music and minoring in German. He will complete the summer 2024 faculty-led program “Classical Music in Brazil” under the leadership of Dr. Theresa Bogard, a faculty member in the UW Department of Music. The group will spend 3 weeks in Goiania, Brazil studying and playing classical music.

Carter Matson (Rochester, MN) – Carter is double majoring in Secondary Education and History major with a minor in French. He will complete the UW faculty-led program “Nazi Germany & the Holocaust” in summer 2024, led by UW History Faculty member Dr. Adam Blackler. The group will travel to Germany and Poland.

Dylan Chatterley (Rock Springs) – Dylan is a sophomore majoring in Psychology and minoring in Honors. He will complete the UW faculty-led program “The Art & History of Medicine” in summer 2024, led by UW Faculty members Dr. Brian Cherrington and Dr. Michael Dillon of the Zoology and Physiology Department. The program will take place in Austria, Belgium, England, and Scotland.

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