Four UIC students awarded Gilman study abroad scholarships

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

The UIC recipients, all from Illinois, are among over 800 American undergraduate students from more than 350 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 $8,000 to apply toward their study abroad program costs. Since 2006, UIC students have won more than 150 Gilman scholarships totaling approximately $600,000.

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

Bilqees Dinkins, Honors College sophomore in political science from Chicago (Ashburn), studying in Taipei, Taiwan

Yesenia Perez, junior in Latin American and Latino studies from Hanover Park, studying in Managua, Nicaragua

Dominika Struk, junior in political science from Des Plaines, studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mymy Tang, Honors College junior in finance from Naperville, who currently resides in Chicago (Bridgeport), studying in Shanghai, China

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, who was chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee.