University News

January 5, 2024 | Mike Enright '88 (CLAS), University Communications

Seven UConn Students Earn Prestigious Gilman Scholarships

The program encourages travel to diverse locations, along with intensive language study and internship experiences

The fall 2023 recipients of Gilman scholarships (front, from left) Suki Zheng, Michelle Eweka, (back, from left) Moera Kamimura, Alexandra Torres Munoz, Avery Lyn Sparks and Yanni Tsiranides pose for a photo on the Student Union lawn

The fall 2023 recipients of Gilman scholarships (front, from left) Suki Zheng, Michelle Eweka, (back, from left) Moera Kamimura, Alexandra Torres Munoz, Avery Lyn Sparks and Yanni Tsiranides pose for a photo on the Student Union lawn on Dec. 14, 2023. (Sydney Herdle/UConn Photo)

The Gilman Scholarship, a prestigious academic award congressionally funded through the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the State Department, has been awarded to seven UConn students for the current application cycle. The funding supports broadening student participation in study abroad programs and encourages travel to diverse locations around the globe, along with intensive language study and internship experiences.

“We are very excited to see STEM students being represented with Gilman Scholarships this award cycle,” says Valerie Jenkelunas, Experiential Global Learning (EGL) advisor and community liaison specialist. “We also appreciate that four students will be studying abroad in East Asia, an underrepresented region in study abroad nationally.”

In addition to EGL, students applying for Gilman Scholarships also work with advisors in UConn’s Office of National Scholarships & Fellowships (ONSF).  Michael Cunningham, assistant director of ONSF and UConn’s Fulbright program advisor, is one of two Gilman certifying advisors at UConn along with Jenkelunas.

Each Gilman Scholar is required to complete a service project upon their return from studying abroad in their campus or home community, with the goal of sharing the value of participation in study abroad and promoting the scholarship to prospective students. Applications are reviewed with consideration for the proposed follow-up service project.

Eligibility for the Gilman Scholarship requires undergraduate students to be Pell Grant-eligible, United States citizens who plan to study abroad for academic credit through a program approved by their home institution. Supporting students with high financial need provides access to students who are historically underrepresented in study abroad, including first-generation college students, STEM majors, ethnic and racial minority students, students with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students, and others who experience barriers to participation.

Students from underrepresented areas of the U.S. are also considered during the application process and this year there are recipients from all 50 states.

The following UConn students were selected as Gilman Scholars in this cycle and they are listed with the location of where they will study as part of the program:

Andrew Change ’25 (ENG), a mechanical engineering major, who will study at Korea University in Seoul in the spring of 2024. Change also received a Critical Need Language Award, which is given to selected recipients who are studying in a location where a critical need language is spoken – Korean in the case of Change. There are only 90 of these awards given nationally.

Michelle Eweka ’25 (CLAS), a political science and humanities major, who will study at the University of Granada in Spain in the summer of 2024. Her sister Victoria Amy Eweka ’24 (CLAS) is currently studying at the University of Konstanz in Germany on a Gilman Scholarship.

Moera Kamimura ’25 (ENG), a mechanical engineering major from Stamford, who will study at Waseda University in Tokyo in the spring 2024 semester.

Avery Lyn Sparks ’25 (CLAS), a psychology major with a political science minor from East Haddam, who will study at the International Studies Institute in Florence, Italy, in the spring 2024 semester.

Alexandra Torres Munoz ’25 (CAHNR, CLAS), an allied health sciences and French double major with minors in Spanish, European studies, physiology, neurobiology, and literary translation, from Wallingford who will study at the University of Granada in Spain in the spring of 2024.

Yanni Ysiranidies ’25 (BUS), a finance major from Norwalk, who will study at Waseda University in Tokyo in the summer of 2024.

Suki Zheng ’25 (ENG), an environmental engineering major, who will study at Korea University in Seoul in the spring of 2024.

 

The Office of Experiential Global Learning (EGL) and the Office of National Scholarships & Fellowships (ONSF) are resources for students interested in learning more about the Gilman Scholarship and other scholarships and fellowships that support education abroad opportunities for undergraduates and graduate students. Students interested in learning more about the Gilman should reach out to one of UConn’s Gilman Certifying Advisors, Val Jenkelunas (EGL) and Michael Cunningham (ONSF).