Six UIC students awarded Gilman study abroad scholarships

UIC’s latest Gilman Scholarship winners are, L-R: Jessica Garcia (Chicago – Bridgeport), Elizabeth Geevarghese (Arlington Heights, Illinois), Tariq Ghazawi, (Villa Park, Illinois), Sheila Kelley (St. Louis, Missouri) and Joanna Przytula (Chicago – Portage Park). Not pictured: David Molina (Chicago – Belmont Cragin). Click on individual images to download larger file size.

Six UIC students have been awarded U.S. State Department Benjamin A. Gilman scholarships to study abroad this summer.

The UIC recipients are among over 1,150 American undergraduate students from more than 377 colleges and universities across the U.S. selected for the honor.

The Gilman International Scholarship Program, sponsored by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, aims to diversify the group of students who study abroad and their destinations. To be eligible for the award, students must demonstrate financial need by receiving a federal Pell Grant for their studies.

Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply toward their study-abroad program costs. Since 2006, UIC students have won more than 140 Gilman scholarships totaling approximately $565,000.

The latest UIC recipients, representing the colleges of business administration, and liberal arts and sciences, and their destinations are:

• Jessica Garcia, Honors College junior in psychology from Chicago (Bridgeport) studying in Seoul, South Korea
• Elizabeth Geevarghese, Honors College junior in chemistry and Hispanic studies from Arlington Heights, Illinois, studying in Santiago, Chile
• Tariq Ghazawi, Honors College junior in biological sciences and psychology from Villa Park, Illinois, studying in Amman, Jordan
• Sheila Kelley, Honors College junior in political science from St. Louis, studying in Tokyo
• David Molina, junior in chemistry and pre-med from Chicago (Belmont Cragin) studying in Rome
• Joanna Przytula, Honors College freshman in information and decision sciences and entrepreneurship from Chicago (Portage Park) studying in Jakar, Bhutan

The Gilman program is funded through the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000 and is administered by the Institute of International Education’s Southern Regional Center in Houston. The program honors former U.S. Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman of New York, a former chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee.