Two Students Receive Gilman Study Abroad Scholarships
JONESBORO – Two students at Arkansas State University have each been awarded prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships for studying abroad in the summer of 2018. Tyler Brown, a sophomore from Hot Springs, and Alyssa Green, a senior from Sheridan, were announced by the U.S. Department of State as the recipients.
Brown is a zoology major with a minor in marine science. She is pursuing a career as a zoologist, possibly working in rescue and rehabilitation. A biodiversity scholar in the Upper Delta Biodiversity Program and a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, her Gilman Scholarship will help fund her participation in A-State’s Tropical Ecology study abroad program in Costa Rica this summer.
While there, she will study neotropical bat ecology and tropical botany under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Risch, chair and professor of animal ecology, and Dr. Travis Marsico, associate chair and professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.
Green is an elementary education major at A-State. Following graduation, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in special education with an emphasis in gifted and talented. She is treasurer of the National Panhellenic Council at A-State and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.
A student in the Honors College, Green was also awarded the Honors Experience Grant and the El Centro Panamericano de Idiomas Shelby Rhodes Memorial Scholarship. Green’s Gilman Scholarship will help fund her participation in A-State’s Costa Rica study abroad program for Spanish language immersion this summer under the guidance of Claudio Eduardo, instructor in Spanish.
Brown and Green were selected from 1,201 undergraduate students from 363 colleges and universities across the U.S.
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. The scholarship supports American undergraduate students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad and, since 2001, has enabled more than 25,000 outstanding Americans of diverse backgrounds to engage in a meaningful educational experience abroad. The program has successfully broadened U.S. participation in study abroad, while emphasizing countries and regions where fewer Americans traditionally study.
Brown and Green bring the total of A-State students who have received Gilman Scholarships to 11 in the last five years. Kandria Driskill of Sheridan, who won a Gilman in fall 2017, is currently studying abroad at North-West University in the Republic of South Africa. Julian Jackson of Monticello studied in Austria in the fall of 2017, Hannah Massey of Walnut Ridge spent time in spring 2017 in Northern Ireland, and Raj N. Patel of Bryant studied in Japan during the summer of 2016.
James Frye of West Monroe, La., visited Thailand and Jenny Cheng of Jonesboro studied in Spain in the spring of 2013, and Jonathan Carmichael of Black Oak went to Costa Rica in summer 2013. Leslie Ginn of Walnut Ridge was selected to study in Costa Rica during summer 2012 and Michael Markin of Cave City spent the summer of 2013 studying in China.
