Unprecedented study abroad success

Four students awarded Gilman International Scholarships

Four Brandeis students have received Gilman International Scholarships for the Fall 2008 semester. Gilman scholarships, which are funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, provide funding to undergraduates who want to pursue academic studies abroad, but would not be able to do so otherwise due to financial limitations.

For Brandeis, having four Gilman scholarship winners in one semester is unprecedented; that figure already matches the largest number of Brandeis students to receive the highly competitive scholarship in any previous academic year.

“This is very exciting for us,” said Assistant Dean of Academic Services Scott Van Der Meid, who also serves as Director of Study Abroad. “We’ve gone from 19 percent of our students studying abroad 10 years ago, to 40 percent this year. And thanks to Gilman, we’re seeing that growth among all different types of Brandeis students.”

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is open to any undergraduate student who is already receiving a federal Pell Grant. The program awards scholarships of up to $5,000, depending on the needs of the student.

The Brandeis students who received Gilman International Scholarships for the fall semester include Nadine Channaoui ’10, who is in Cochabamba, Bolivia with the School for International Training Program in Culture & Development, Anna Pancheshnikov ’10, who is in Salvador, Brazil studying at the School for International Training Program in Public Health and Community Welfare, and Anna Umanskaya ’10 and Julie Zong ’10, who are both studying at University College London in London, England.