Grand Valley State University has the distinction of being among the top institutions for students receiving the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, as 11 students were granted the award for the 2018-2019 academic year. Granted by the U.S. State Department, the scholarship provides financial assistance for students traveling overseas for internship or study-abroad programs.

Paul Villa, one of the students selected for the scholarship, will travel to Spain where he will apply medical skills learned in the classroom this summer. 

“The first month I will study Spanish language at the University of Granada, and the second month I will be working in a community health clinic and/or a cancer center in Granada,” Villa said. “As a pre-med student, the latter half is particularly exciting, and I look forward to briefly assimilating into a Spanish-speaking community while doing some good. I hope to travel all over Spain, but starting with Alhambra won’t be a bad start.”

Capriana Calvachi, another Gilman Scholarship recipient, will be traveling to the United Kingdom as part of the Anthropology Department’s study abroad program this summer. 

“I am double majoring in both biology and anthropology and am looking forward to this trip since it offers a perfect blend of both of my interests,” Calvachi said. “We will be conducting research on skeletal remains at a museum in London, as well as immersing ourselves in the culture by exploring multiple historically significant locations. Personally, I am most excited about visiting Stonehenge and the host of museums found in and around London.”

Special education major Chloe Church will be using the Gilman Scholarship to assist her in traveling to Tanzania where she’ll help in schools within the African country. 

“The thing I am looking forward to most while in Tanzania is being able to learn about their culture and language from the kids in the school I will be working in and from the people in the community,” Church said. “We are also going on a safari which I am really excited about.”

Since the Gilman Scholarship program’s implementation in 2001, over 100,000 applications have been processed and over 28,000 students have been awarded the grant, allowing them to travel overseas and gain experiences they otherwise couldn’t. Villa, Calvachi and Church all emphasized how the scholarship provided the financial assistance required to make their trips feasible. 

“This opportunity was contingent on receiving a Gilman award,” Villa said. “So, for me, this is really a lottery win. I’m very honored to be selected by them; I would not be able to go if it were not for this award. I would also like to take the opportunity to shout out the Frederik Meijer Office of Fellowships. I am 100 percent certain I would not have gotten here without the help of Lauren Presutti and Elizabeth Lambert.”

With these scholarships, these students will travel to foreign countries, building skills that will not only translate into their careers but will create experiences they can draw upon and cherish throughout life.