Jackson Wins Gilman Scholarship for Study Abroad
JONESBORO – Julian Jackson, a senior majoring in computer and information technology with a minor in management at Arkansas State University, has received the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad.
Jackson, from Monticello, has been awarded funding to study at the Graz University of Technology in Austria during the fall 2017 semester. He will depart Sunday, Aug. 27.
“I believe measuring the level of success is a matter of opinion,” Jackson stated in his statement of purpose essay. “People see success in different ways. I have a will to learn lifelong business skills so that I can help people from all over the world with technology. This value of helping others through work I enjoy equals success to me. Receiving the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship will start this process and it will also give me the satisfaction of knowing I have the support of amazing individuals who care deeply about my aspirations in life.”
In addition to maintaining an active presence on the A-State campus as a Student Government Association senator and member of the Student Conduct Board, Jackson is also a member of the Association of Information Technology Professionals, Action Fund Committee, Entrepreneurial and Innovation Club, and Phi Beta Lambda (collegiate division of Future Business Leaders of America).
Following graduation, he plans to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree. Jackson’s career goal is to help companies innovate through implementation of technology in the workplace.
“I’m so proud of what Julian has accomplished at A-State, and now especially in winning the Gilman Scholarship,” said Jennifer Salo, special project coordinator for the Honors College at A-State. “Julian is the perfect example of a student who takes advantage of the many opportunities the university provides to go after his academic and personal goals. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him after his experience abroad.”
Jackson is one of nearly 1,000 American undergraduate students from 386 colleges and universities across the U.S. selected for the scholarship that is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad or internship program costs with additional funding available for the study of a critical language overseas. Jackson’s funding is $3,500.
In November 2016, Hannah Massey of Walnut Ridge, then a junior electrical engineering major, was selected as a Gilman Scholarship recipient to study at Ulster University in Northern Ireland, and Raj N. Patel of Bryant was a Gilman scholar in May 2016 who studied at Saitama University in Japan.
The late Congressman Gilman, for whom the scholarship is named, served in the House of Representatives for 30 years and chaired the House Foreign Relations Committee. When honored with the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Medal in 2002, he commented, “Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community.”
