The Capstone International Center’s Education Abroad department is excited to announce a new partnership with WorldStrides Higher Education, the nation’s leading education travel provider. Starting summer 2024, UA will house a WorldStrides embedded office on campus (in B.B. Comer) to work alongside Education Abroad to provide high-quality study abroad experiences to our students.
WorldStrides (including its subsidiaries ISA, TEAN, and Custom Programs) have been affiliated study abroad providers to UA for over a decade, offering international education opportunities to hundreds of students. This embedded office is an innovative progression to an existing partnership that will further allow us to meet the growing demand for global programming.
ISA, International Studies Abroad, offers programs in Africa, Europe, and Latin America
TEAN, The Education Abroad Network, offers programs in Asia and the Pacific.
Custom Programs partners with UA professors to create unique and customized international experiences that are fine-tuned to the learning outcomes and logistical needs of each program.
Aside from traditional study abroad programs, students can also participate in an internship, conduct research, engage in service-learning, or a combination of these opportunities depending on location.We will be hosting members from the WorldStrides Higher Education team on campus in the coming months. If you are interested in meeting them in person, please email studyabroad@ua.edu.
WorldStrides was chosen through a competitive bid process amongst a list of our affiliated providers and other U.S. study abroad providers. To see the full list of UA-affiliated program providers, please visit: https://international.ua.edu/educationabroad/explore/program-types/
Honors a student who has improved relations among different groups. Past recipients have been chosen primarily for improving understanding and supporting interaction among groups for a common cause.
Rolland Grady
Rolland Grady’s drive to elevate the Alabama experience for her fellow students is evident in her endeavors that will surely impact the world beyond The University of Alabama campus.
Serving as the president of Vote Everywhere, a nationwide voting rights initiative, Grady works to unite students from all backgrounds through on-campus missions, including registering voters plus helping them navigate the absentee ballot process and understand their voting rights and why they matter.
But voting education is not the only way Grady is bridging the gaps between student groups at UA. As a student officer in the Blackburn Institute, Grady has learned how to advocate for multiple perspectives among her peers and use that knowledge to help merge their varied experiences into ways to help each other prepare to take on the world.
The Judy Bonner Presidential Medallion Award
This award recognizes a member of the UA community who has gone above and beyond normal expectations to change the culture or implement new initiatives designed to advance the Alabama experience for all undergraduate students or a segment of the undergraduate population.
Dr. Carolina Robinson
Dr. Carolina Robinson understands that helping students reach their full potential happens outside of the classroom as much as it does inside it. As the director of the Capstone International Center’s Education Abroad office, she is truly using a global perspective to elevate the UA student experience.
Her peers say that her servant leadership and passion for students are how she fosters a culture of global education at UA. Through donor engagement, she has increased scholarship offerings for students to travel to locations such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Robinson cultivates the Alabama experience by showing what her peers call a “deep-rooted focus on first-generation and Pell Grant students” through programming and fostering opportunities that show these students that they not only belong at UA but they also have a place in the world beyond campus as well.
The Morris Lehman Mayer Award
Recipients will exemplify the life of Morris L. Mayer: selfless and significant service and leadership for the UA community, significant contributions to student life and integrity.
Malea Benjamin
Selfless and service are two words that describe how Malea Benjamin is impacting The University of Alabama campus. Driven to make a tangible change in the world, she knew she had the tools to do that at UA and set forth to do so.
Through her various roles and involvement with the Student Government Association, the Blackburn Institute and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, more specifically her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., she strives to be an advocate for every student so they are seen, heard and celebrated.
Benjamin has gained a greater understanding of the various communities across campus as an Outreach Ambassador in the Intercultural Diversity Center, where staff members are educated through programming and conversations with various communities and then serve as a resource for anyone who visits the IDC.
How she engages with other students in bridging the community gaps among them is a constant reminder to her peers that students can and should be advocates for each other in making sure every student knows there is a place for them at UA.
The John Fraser Ramsey Award
The John Fraser Ramsey Award is not exclusively a service, leadership, or academic award: it honors a distinctive kind of excellence. The John Fraser Ramsey Award recognizes the versatility of gifts and attainments, as well as the breadth of excellence in mind and character, that have traditionally been the goals of a liberal education. The Ramsey is awarded to a junior with broad interests related to the humanities who has exerted a positive influence on his or her contemporaries.
Kate Herndon
As The University of Alabama’s first-ever recipient of the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, Kate Herndon knows the impact that service before self can have on a community and she lives those words every day.
Herndon’s endeavors focus on women, children and senior citizens, and through her academic research, she looks for ways to explore history to understand current policies to shape future policies and laws.
She is immensely involved with the Women and Gender Resource Center and serves as the assistant director for the SGA’s Safe Center Committee. She also is the director of campus outreach and recruitment for the Capstone Journal of Law and Public Policy.
Through the Blackburn Institute’s curriculum, Herndon has gained a knowledge and perspective about how to serve others that doesn’t surprise her peers who describe her as “brilliant and engaging.”
Many feel that Herndon’s passion to serve, curiosity and love of learning are just a few of her many gifts.
The Catherine J. Randall Award
This award recognizes the most outstanding student scholar at UA based on GPA, rigor of course study, and extraordinary scholarly or creative endeavor; applicants may come from any academic program of study, as scholarly and creative activities from within all majors will be considered for this award.
Kittson Hamill
As a woman in STEM, Kittson Hamill is setting the bar high for future generations. Holding various leadership roles across campus and receiving numerous accolades while enrolled in a rigorous course load — she’s also showing them that anything is possible.
Hamill, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, is a computer science major focusing on data security and analytics and a triple minor in the Randall Research Scholars Program, Chinese and art. She earned first place in the 2022 Alpaca Owners Association Student Design Competition using her weaving skills and showcasing how she excelled not only in her STEM major but also in the arts.
She has received recognition for her academic and research endeavors from local, national and international organizations and interned with the U.S. Department of Defense and the NOAA Hollings program, among others.
Hamill’s other work in helping to detect Early-Stage Alzheimer’s disease and with the United Nation’s Girl Up program, all while maintaining a perfect GPA, are just more examples of her commitment to doing the work it takes to be part of the global good.
The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award
The recipients of the award have demonstrated the highest standards of scholarship, leadership and service. It recognizes the practical application of noble ideals and is based on excellence of character and service to humanity.
Abby Morthland
Abilene Morthland seeks to unite and uplift those around her, and according to her peers, she already does. But she recognizes the space to cascade these values of identity beyond herself and thus works to create sustaining communities across her campus involvement.
Being part of the Randall Research Scholars Program has helped Morthland actualize opportunities to leverage her privileges and positions for marginalized populations. Through her leadership roles in the RRSP, she instituted mental health initiatives and created the program-wide newsletter to value student wellbeing and foster growing connections with and amongst alumni.
The Honors College student also serves as Chief Justice in the Student Government Association, where she trains Associate Justices and Clerks on compassionate, fair adjudication. This work, her double majors of Spanish and philosophy, her contributions of artwork sales to nonprofit donations and her many other campus experiences and accolades have worked to fortify her passion for human rights advocacy.
Dr. Carolyn Dahl
Dr. Carolyn Dahl’s work to make learning accessible has made a lasting impact on everyone around her. Her peers cite tenacity and capacity for “getting the job done” as markers of what she will do for learners and their educational opportunities.
As Dean of the College of Continuing Studies (now the Office for Teaching Innovation and Digital Education), she championed the idea that the University could reach learners of all ages and phases of life. Cultivating buy-in with fellow campus leaders, she helped transform online offerings, expanding higher education opportunities and social mobility for nontraditional learners. She was also instrumental in the development of UA Early College, an innovative early-enrollment program for high school students, and UA’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, serving older learners across the state.
Since retiring from UA, Dahl has continued to bring intentional leadership and engaged service to the campus and the Tuscaloosa community as an active volunteer.
Graduate School Premier Award
This award honors a graduate student whose University of Alabama experience encapsulates the University’s tripartite mission of teaching, research and service.
Dalis Lampkins
When Dalis Lampkins began her graduate school journey in 2019, she knew she wanted to pour into her students and encourage their successes. She would later learn that an institution is only as strong as the people within it and set forth on a meaningful path for herself and others at The University of Alabama.
She serves in roles across campus that foster student and leadership engagement, including president of the Graduate Student Association, where she helped create the Graduate Student Center that opened last fall to serve the 5,000+ graduate student community.
Lampkins also is working through GSA to focus on students regarding issues such as food insecurity, academic fees, departmental pay, student care and well-being and mental health, graduation regalia and child care.
She continues to work with various partners on UA’s campus and volunteers with many West Alabama nonprofits with students she is teaching and learning alongside to help them find their path.
The University of Alabama (UA) has been selected by the Institute of International Education (IIE) to receive an IIE American Passport Project grant that will enable up to 25 UA students to obtain a U.S. passport and support their study abroad journeys. In this third year of the program, IIE awarded 48 institutions in the IIENetwork for this opportunity, which will help up to 1,200 Pell-eligible, U.S. students obtain their U.S. passports and start their study abroad journey. “A passport is the first thing that opens up their world to the possibility of study abroad,” said Courtney Temple, IIE Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
As a key initiative under IIE’s newly launched Center for Access and Equity, the IIE American Passport Project represents IIE’s commitment to create access to international education opportunities and enable equity. For this program, IIE is removing an initial financial barrier for many – the cost of a U.S. passport; thereby, helping to increase diversity and inclusion of students studying abroad. Through the IIE American Passport Project, IIE aims to empower 10,000 U.S. students with their passports by the end of this decade.
In addition, the grant is intended to support the IIENetwork, IIE’s global membership association, in assisting students from their respective campuses to go abroad who would otherwise not participate in an international experience as part of their college education. The program prioritizes first-year students, with limited financial means, for whom this may be their first passport and makes global learning abroad a greater possibility with an earlier start. The awarded institutions will couple the grant funding with their engagement and outreach, advising, programming, and additional support for the students they have identified for this program.
The IIE Passport Project will be managed by Capstone International Center, Education Abroad (EA) office. EA will launch applications for free passports on their website (studyabroad.ua.edu) at the start of the Fall semester!
Ben Borja, an international studies and political science double major, has received a Critical Language Scholarship to study Mandarin through an online program based in Dalian, China, this summer.
Ben Borja
Borja, who is minoring in Chinese and leadership communication, is an Honors College student from Cincinnati, Ohio. He has previously studied in Shanghai, China; London, England; and is currently finishing his last semester of undergraduate study in Rome, Italy. Borja plans to use the program to improve his proficiency in Mandarin and continue that improvement by pursuing graduate school opportunities in Taiwan, ultimately building toward a career in diplomacy or public policymaking.
Borja has been the recipient of the Dean’s Award of Merit from the College of Arts and Sciences, McAdam’s Award from the department of political science and an Education Abroad Grant.
In addition, two students were selected as alternates. Karen Fetsch, of Auburn, is an alternate to study Swahili, and Nick Hayes, of Memphis, Tennessee, is an alternate to study Swahili.
The Critical Language Scholarship program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is part of a wider government initiative to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering foreign languages that are critical to national security and economic prosperity. CLS plays an important role in preparing students for the 21st century’s globalized workforce and increasing national competitiveness.
The program provides scholarships to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to spend eight to 10 weeks studying one of 15 critical languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish or Urdu.
The program includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains. Participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future careers.
Students interested in Critical Language Scholarships and other education abroad opportunities can contact the Capstone International Center at cic@ua.edu for more information.
Contact Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, bryant.welbourne@ua.edu
The University of Alabama, part of The University of Alabama System, is the state’s flagship university. UA shapes a better world through its teaching, research and service. With a global reputation for excellence, UA provides an inclusive, forward-thinking environment and nearly 200 degree programs on a beautiful, student-centered campus. A leader in cutting-edge research, UA advances discovery, creative inquiry and knowledge through more than 30 research centers. As the state’s largest higher education institution, UA drives economic growth in Alabama and beyond.
A record number of UA students were awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship with 21 selected to participate in study abroad programs during the most recent application cycle.
Highlights of the cohort include 12 students who will study abroad for the first time and 10 awardees who are first-generation college students. In addition, eight are UA honors students.
“The Education Abroad team is so proud of the 21 University of Alabama students who have won a Gilman International Scholarship for their upcoming studies abroad,” said Dr. Carolina Robinson, director of education abroad with the UA Capstone International Center. “This occasion represents the most UA students who have ever won and the largest earnings during a single application cycle.
“The U.S. State Department’s Gilman International Scholarship is a prestigious award meant to increase access, while also inspiring students to study and intern in a diverse array of countries around the world. While restarting study abroad, despite the pandemic, has been challenging, we are grateful for awards such as the Gilman that allow us to make sure study abroad is an opportunity for all students, regardless of financial means.”
Scholarship winners are selected by the Institute of International Education through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. The latest round of recipients includes:
Natalia Acevedo, of Birmingham, was selected to study in South Korea.
David Artushin, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, was selected to study in Italy.
Hannah Benton, of Scottsboro, was selected to study in Spain.
Breanna Brown, of Tuscaloosa, was selected to study in the United Kingdom.
Ciara Callicott, of Little Rock, Arkansas, was selected to study in Italy.
John Caples, of Johns Creek, Georgia, was selected to study in Austria.
Lawson Colgate, of Midlothian, Virginia, was selected to study in Spain.
Skylar Deavers, of Pinson, was selected to study in Sint Maarten.
Madison Dunn, of Slater, Iowa, was selected to study in Belgium, the United Kingdom and France.
Anna-Cae Fuller, of Tuscaloosa, was selected to study in Belize.
Francis Hillard, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was selected to study in France.
Kaddyjatou Jallow, of Hoover, was selected to study in France.
Kathleen Kelley, of Birmingham, was selected to study in Italy.
Eva Kreitman, of Louisville, Kentucky, was selected to study in Sweden.
Briana Lorissaint, of Albertville, was selected to study in Norway.
Grace McMann, of Crown Point, Indiana, was selected to study in Italy.
Harvey Munera, of Tuscaloosa, was selected to study in France.
Abigail Olliff, of Alabaster, was selected to study in Greece.
Mia Scarpino, of Tuscaloosa, was selected to study in Italy.
Kayla Veal, of Coaling, was selected to study in India.
Nicole White, of Theodore, was selected to study in India.
Students interested in educational opportunities around the globe can visit the UA Education Abroad website.
Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, bryant.welbourne@ua.edu
The University of Alabama, part of The University of Alabama System, is the state’s flagship university. UA shapes a better world through its teaching, research and service. With a global reputation for excellence, UA provides an inclusive, forward-thinking environment and nearly 200 degree programs on a beautiful, student-centered campus. A leader in cutting-edge research, UA advances discovery, creative inquiry and knowledge through more than 30 research centers. As the state’s largest higher education institution, UA drives economic growth in Alabama and beyond.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Fulbright Program has selected 18 University of Alabama students for various awards for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Five UA students received Fulbright Student Research Awards and 10 won Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Awards. In addition, three students won Fulbright Summer Study Awards to Canada.
“The Fulbright Program offers extraordinary opportunities for our students to deepen and expand the global learning experiences that they have on campus or through study abroad after they graduate,” said Dr. Teresa Wise, associate provost of international education and global outreach. “Our students’ time researching or teaching during their Fulbright year abroad has lasting impacts on their personal and professional lives.
“The cross-cultural dialogue and daily experiences that they share with the people of their host country help to build a better and a more peaceful world for us all. Congratulations to all our winners and alternates.”
Fulbright is the most prestigious United States international exchange program, offering opportunities for students, scholars and professionals. The Fulbright Award of the U.S. Department of State offers one-year grants for independent study and research, and for English teaching assistantships overseas. The highly competitive program selects approximately 1,500 award recipients from more than 11,000 applicants each year. UA has received national recognition as a Top Producing Institution for Fulbright U.S. Students five times in recent years.
“Our Fulbright team is proud to introduce each of these honorees to the public,” said Dr. Beverly Hawk, director of global and community engagement at the Center for Community-Based Partnerships. “Their Fulbright Awards are opportunities for them to share their U.S. culture and build ties with the people in their host communities.”
Fulbright Student Research Award recipients:
Mathew Cieśla, of Northport, received a Fulbright Award in cognitive science to research “Early Neural Correlates of Adult Second Language Learning” at the University of Warsaw in Poland. He is a 2022 graduate with an interdisciplinary degree in psycholinguistics and foreign languages with studies in German and Polish.
Andrew Deaton, of Auburn, Georgia, received a Fulbright Award to research “The Czech Hussite Wars and the Rise of Modernity” at the Centre for Medieval Studies in Prague and the Dissident Networks Project at Masaryk University, Brno, in the Czech Republic. A doctoral candidate in history at UA, he is a Blount Scholars Fellow and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree from UA.
Ihuoma Ezebuihe, of Washington, D.C., received a Fulbright Award to research “Translation and Validation of the Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test (MDKT) in Nigeria” at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, College of Medicine. She is a third-year doctoral student in nursing science in UA’s Capstone College of Nursing. She holds a master’s degree in public health, master’s degree in community health and clinical doctorates in medicine and nursing practice.
Tegan Murrell, of Western Springs, Illinois, received a Fulbright Award to the University of Oslo, Norway, to study how trauma has passed across the generations among immigrants. A 2021 UA summa cum laude graduate in mathematics with a minor in creative writing, she holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Samuel Watson, of Hazel Green, received a Fulbright Award to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Korean Studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. A 2022 Honors College graduate in computer science with a minor in Korean language, he now holds the distinction of winning four highly competitive national awards: the Gilman Scholarship Award, Boren Scholarship Award, Critical Language Scholarship Award and Fulbright Award during his undergraduate years.
Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Awards offer U.S. students the opportunity to serve in an English classroom overseas, assisting the teacher and exchanging culture with the people of the host country.
Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award recipients:
Judson Braly, of Fairhope, a 2022 graduate in history with a minor in civic engagement, came to UA on an Army ROTC Three-Year (Active Duty) National Scholarship and will be commissioned as an Army aviation officer. He will teach English in Kenya.
Nicholas Hayes, of Long Valley, New Jersey, a 2022 summa cum laude Honors College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in German with a minor in interdisciplinary linguistics and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with minors in psychology and physics, Phi Beta Kappa member, has been selected to teach in Germany. Hayes is also one of 32 Americans this year to receive a Rhodes Scholarship for study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. He is the 16th Rhodes Scholar in UA history.
Sarah Homoky, of Kingsport, Texas, is a 2021 graduate in anthropology, biology and German, an Honors College Randall Research Scholar, and member of Delta Phi Alpha German Honor Society and Lambda Alpha Anthropology Honor Society. She will teach in Germany.
Lauren L’Etang, of Northport, is a 2019 summa cum laude Honors College graduate in Spanish and international studies with a minor in music. A Phi Beta Kappa member, she will teach in Mexico.
John “Jack” Lombardo, of Schenectady, New York, was selected to teach in Germany. A secondary education and German major and member of Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Society, he plans to pursue a career in education.
Marie Neubrander, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science with a minor in economics. A summa cum laude UA Honors College graduate, Randall Research Scholar and member of The XXXI, she will teach in Taiwan.
Wesley Clay Richmond, of Cypress, Texas, a 2021 summa cum laude graduate in history with a minor in German, will teach English in Germany.
Channler Dakota Smith, of Town Creek, a 2022 graduate in electrical engineering with a minor in math, will teach in Taiwan.
Bryan Winkler, of York, Pennsylvania, earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a minor in global and cultural perspectives, summa cum laude, as well as a master’s degree in romance languages and a specialty in Spanish literature. He was recognized by UA with the Distinguished Undergraduate Scholar Award and George Griffen Brownell Sr. Award for excellence in Spanish. He will teach in Spain.
Leona Yeager, of Northport, is an Honors College graduate and member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. A member of New College, she holds bachelor’s degrees in international studies and interdisciplinary studies, summa cum laude, with a focus on international relations in Asia and interdisciplinary health sciences. She will teach in Mongolia.
Additionally, four students were awarded alternate status in this year’s national competition and may have the opportunity to serve abroad if more funding becomes available or if a finalist is unable to participate. They are Makenna Berry (Israel), Castiel Lisko (Romania), Marco Pflanzen (Colombia) and Declan Smith(Ireland).
Three UA students were awarded Fulbright Canada – MITACS Globalink Internships for summer 2022. The Fulbright-MITACS Globalink is intended for U.S. students to undertake advanced research projects in Canada.
Fulbright Award to Canada recipients:
Abigail Foes, of Rockford, Illinois, majoring in mathematics and chemistry with a minor in global health and the Randall Research Scholars Program and member of the UA Honors College, will be contributing to research in Quebec, Canada, titled “Monitoring exposure to food toxins using mass spectrometry.”
Abbie Giunta, of Onalaska, Wisconsin, majoring in French and biology with a minor in the Randall Research Scholars Program and member of the Honors College, will be contributing to research in New Brunswick, Canada, titled “Les instruments territoriaux en contexte de gouvernance locale / Territorial policy instruments in local governance context.”
Anna Kate Manchester, of Brentwood, Tennessee, majoring in history and political science with a minor in the Randall Research Scholars Program and member of the Honors College, will be contributing to research in Ontario, Canada, titled “Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in Resource-Rich Communities: A Study of Global South and High North Cases.”
UA Fulbright advisers Megan Legerski, Dr. Matthew Feminella, Dr. Beverly Hawk and Dr. Lucy Kaufman aided students through the applications process for success in the national Fulbright competition.
Diane Kennedy-Jackson, UA Division of Community Affairs, dkkennedy1@ua.edu, 205-348-4480
The University of Alabama, part of The University of Alabama System, is the state’s flagship university. UA shapes a better world through its teaching, research and service. With a global reputation for excellence, UA provides an inclusive, forward-thinking environment and nearly 200 degree programs on a beautiful, student-centered campus. A leader in cutting-edge research, UA advances discovery, creative inquiry and knowledge through more than 30 research centers. As the state’s largest higher education institution, UA drives economic growth in Alabama and beyond.
Fourteen UA students have been awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to participate in study abroad programs.
“The Gilman Scholarship awards our Pell Grant students with an international opportunity that has the potential to transform their studies and lives,” said Dr. Carolina Robinson, director of Education Abroad at UA. “Fourteen winners are the most that UA has produced in one cycle, which reflects on Education Abroad’s commitment to advising and supporting interested students through the process.”
Scholarship winners are selected by the Institute of International Education through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. The latest round of recipients includes:
Kayleigh Burkette was selected to study in Australia
Jacob Champion was selected to study in Italy
Bailee Hughes was selected to study in the United Kingdom
Kylie Lundy was selected to study in Hungary
Sophia Molinari was selected to study in Italy
Asia Moore was selected to study in the United Kingdom
Quinn Power was selected to study in Ghana
Cassidy Price was selected to study in the United Kingdom
Channler Smith was selected to study in Japan
Christine Thompson was selected to study in South Africa
Samuel Wartel was selected to study in South Korea
Shawn White was selected to study in Japan
Jayna Whitehead was selected to study in Italy
Brannon Zaner was selected to study in France
Gilman awardees receive up to $5,000 to apply toward their study abroad program costs, giving them the opportunity to gain a better understanding of other cultures, countries, languages and economies.
Students interested in educational opportunities around the globe can visit the UA Education Abroad website.
Contact: Bryant Welbourne, UA Strategic Communications, bryant.welbourne@ua.edu
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Winners are selected by the Institute of International Education through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. Recipients receive up to $5,000 to apply toward study abroad or internship program costs, giving them the opportunity to gain a better understanding of other cultures, countries, languages and economies. The Education Abroad office hosts regular workshops to inform students about the Gilman application process and assist students in choosing a country and program that is right for them. Visit the Education Abroad website for more information, or call 205-348-5256 to find out more.
Congratulations to the following UA students who won a Gilman for study abroad:
Four UA students were selected as recipients of the Critical Languages Scholarship Award to participate in overseas language study during the summer of 2020. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, CLS has unfortunately suspended all summer language institutes for 2020. Despite this disappointing news, we wish to congratulate our winners, who will be eligible to reapply for the award for the 2021 application cycle.
David Ewing, a finance major, was selected to study Chinese in Tainan, Taiwan.
Elena Guerra, a Romance Languages and Spanish double-major, was selected to study Russian.
Katie Lightfoot, a German major, was selected to study Turkish at Ankara University TOMER in Bursa, Turkey.
Bria Samuels, a German MA student, was selected to study Turkish at Ankara University TOMER in Bursa, Turkey.
The Critical Language Scholarship program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. CLS scholars gain critical language and cultural skills that enable them to contribute to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.
The program provides scholarships to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to spend eight to 10 weeks overseas studying one of 14 critical languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish or Urdu.
The program includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains. CLS scholars are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future careers.
Students interested in Critical Language Scholarships, Boren Scholarships or Fulbright Awards may contact the Capstone International Center at cic@ua.edu for more information.
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Winners are selected by the Institute of International Education through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. Recipients receive up to $5,000 to apply toward study abroad or internship program costs, giving them the opportunity to gain a better understanding of other cultures, countries, languages and economies. The Education Abroad office hosts regular workshops to inform students about the Gilman application process and assist students in choosing a country and program that is right for them. Visit the Education Abroad website for more information, or call 205-348-5256 to find out more.
Congratulations to the following UA students who won a Gilman for study abroad:
