Oklahoma State University student receives the Benjamin A. Gilman International scholarship for study abroad

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Megan Bennett, a sociology major at Oklahoma State University, is one of 1,000 outstanding American undergraduate students from over 380 colleges and universities across the U.S. who was offered the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to participate in a study abroad program during the spring semester 2012.

Bennett will study at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. She plans to take advantage of the Anthropology offerings at UniSA to study Aboriginal Cultures and Comparative Indigenous Studies. A requirement of the Gilman Scholarship program is a follow-on project to promote study abroad on the student's home campus. As a transfer student, Bennett has proposed targeting the transfer students at OSU to better inform them of study abroad opportunities.

Bennett, the daughter of Linda and Wayne Treece of Comanche, Okla.

Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad program costs, and a limited number of Critical Need Language Scholarships are given each year for a total award of $8,000. The Gilman Scholarship Program aims to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Institute of International Education's Southern Regional Center in Houston, Texas.

Since the establishment of the Gilman International Scholarship Program by the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000, over 6,500 students nationwide have received this prestigious award. Congressman Gilman, who retired in 2002 after serving in the House of Representatives for 30 years and chairing the House Foreign Relations Committee, commented, "Study abroad is a special experience for every student who participates. Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides our students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community."