College Forum - Miami Dade College

Miami Dade College

April 2011, Volume 15, Number 2

Features

Gilman Scholarship Opens Doors for Study Abroad

Building bridges across cultures, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship grants up to $5,000 for outstanding U.S. students who desire to embark on the foreign-land journey of a lifetime while simultaneously earning college credit.

In the 2009-2010 school year, 10 Miami Dade College students earned the prestigious scholarship, with four students going to China and two to Morocco. The other countries where MDC students studied were Japan, the Czech Republic, Italy and the Dominican Republic.

Created in 2000, the scholarship is named after Benjamin A. Gilman, a former Republican Congressman from New York who was a World War II hero, graduated from law school and served as assistant attorney general before becoming a politician.

Encouraging Diversity

The scholarship provides support for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in study abroad. It specifically targets students who otherwise might not have the resources to avail themselves of the benefits of studying abroad, including community college students and those with financial needs.

Students can earn an extra $3,000 in scholarship money if they travel to a country where a “critical-need” language is spoken, such as Russian or Chinese.

Other targeted groups include students with disabilities, students who come from diverse backgrounds and students in fields such as science and engineering.

Number of Recipients Triples

Eva Fernández, MDC’s programs manager for International Education, said the Gilman Scholarship is growing in popularity among students at Miami Dade College.

“The number of MDC students who have received the Gilman has tripled in the past couple of years,” Fernández said. “The College, the community and the students all benefit from the experience as our understanding of foreign cultures grows.”

— WV