Students earn competitive Gilman scholarships to study abroad winter 2014

Five Grand Valley State University students have earned nationally competitive scholarships to study abroad through the Benjamin A. Gilman International program for the winter 2014 semester. 

The students received a combined total of $20,000 in scholarship money. To be eligible for a Gilman scholarship, students must be a U.S. citizen, study in a country that is not Cuba or on the State Department’s travel warning list for at least four weeks, and meet other financial need criteria. 

Below are 2014 winter Gilman recipients, their major, country where they will study, and hometown:

• Michael Dykstra, physics, Peru, Hopkins;

• Anna Harris, biology, Costa Rica, Harrison Township;

• Mary Hoekje, Spanish, Chile, Traverse City;

• Janissa Rodriguez, international business, Costa Rica, Grand Rapids;

• Rebecca Vu, allied health sciences, Thailand, Hudsonville.

The next campus deadline for the Gilman Scholarship is February 25, 2014 for students looking to study abroad in spring, summer, or fall 2014, or academic year 2014/15. Students are encouraged to work on the scholarship application well in advance of the campus deadline, and may schedule an appointment to meet with Amanda Cuevas, director of the Frederik Meijer Office of Fellowships at (616) 331-2699 or by stopping by 230 Mary Idema Pew for assistance.

Details about the Gilman scholarship program are online at www.iie.org/en/Programs/Gilman-Scholarship-Program.