Five outstanding University of Wyoming students were selected for the highly competitive U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship, receiving an average award of $3,000 to support participation in UW study-abroad programs of their choice.
“The fall cycle of this scholarship is particularly competitive, and to see several of our UW students come away with success speaks to their determination,” says Dianne Thompson, who serves as a UW Gilman adviser. “We are excited to see UW students studying around the globe.”
Thompson and Shelley Jewell, of the UW Education Abroad Office, serve as the UW Gilman advisers. Students work with UW Education Abroad to select study-abroad programs and develop strong essays for the Gilman Scholarship application, competing against thousands of applicants from across the country. All applicants must receive Pell Grants to be eligible.
UW’s recipients are among nearly 1,500 students selected across all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and the Northern Mariana Islands.
UW recipients, listed by hometown, are:
Becker, Minn. -- Emilia Hansen, a junior majoring in political science as well as economics with minors in international relations/comparative government and honors. Hansen spent the January term in Jordan with the global seminar Regional Geopolitics in Jordan. This faculty-led group program was led by UW lecturer Eric Nigh. Students received three academic credits.
Cheyenne -- Fjola Bjorgvinsdotti, a freshman majoring in art education. She will study abroad this summer
in Iceland with UW lecturer Francesca King, who will lead a group of UW students and
teach a three-credit course. This program will focus on Icelandic myth and folklore.
Bjorgvinsdotti was a recipient of the Gilman-McCain Scholarship, which is for dependents
or spouses of active-duty military members.
Cherry Hill, N.J. -- Jackie Hand, a junior majoring in wildlife and fisheries biology
management as well as environment and natural resources. She also is earning a certificate
in geographic information science. Hand originally was granted the scholarship to
study abroad in Iceland in summer 2026 but now is seeking to study abroad in the Canary
Islands in spring 2027 with a Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources program
led by Melanie Matthews. In this program, students study climate, environmental change
and culture off the coast of Spain.
Mountain View -- Jayda Kenison, a senior majoring in nursing. In January, she studied
abroad in Thailand with UW Assistant Professor Kate Hartmann and a group of UW students.
Although this was not a nursing program, Kenison studied cultural attitudes and behaviors
involving health, well-being and religion among the Thai people. She earned three
credits during this short program.
Rock Springs -- Bryce Chatterley, a sophomore majoring in physiology and minoring in honors. He was selected based on his intention to study abroad in summer 2026 for an honors seminar, The Art and History of Medicine, led by Brian Cherrington and Michael Dillon. Chatterley will defer to summer 2027 to participate in this popular study-abroad program in London, Paris and Ghent, Belgium.
