UIC students awarded Gilman study abroad scholarships

Ten students from the University of Illinois at Chicago have been awarded U.S. State Department Benjamin A. Gilman scholarships to study abroad this summer.

The UIC recipients are among more than 1,200 American undergraduate students from 363 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 170 Gilman scholarships, totaling approximately $675,000.

The latest UIC recipients, representing public health, applied health sciences, business administration, education, and liberal arts and sciences, are:

• Jacqueline Alexander, a junior in kinesiology from Chicago (West Pullman), studying in Barcelona, Spain
• Aaron Ayala, a senior in finance from Chicago (Belmont-Cragin), studying Barcelona, Spain
• Cristian Baeza, a junior in human development and learning from Chicago (West Eldson), studying in Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Tabitha Birtell, a senior in biological sciences and anthropology from Algonquin, Illinois, studying in Moquegua, Peru
• Jonathan Castro, a senior in Latin American and Latino studies from Chicago (Portage Park), studying in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Luis Cruz, an Honors College junior in information and decision sciences from North Aurora, Illinois, studying in Barcelona, Spain
• Lesly Lopez, a senior in public health from Aurora, Illinois, studying in Santiago De Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
• Leni Redmond, an Honors College junior in nursing from Chicago (Morgan Park), studying in Gaborone, Botswana
• Sarah Sanchez, an Honors College junior in biological sciences from Chicago (Back of the Yards), studying in Oaxaca, Mexico
• Toni Spence, a senior in business management from Montego Bay, Jamaica, who currently resides in Worth, Illinois, studying in Florence, Italy

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.