University Students Receive Federal Study Abroad Scholarship

Twenty students from two West Virginia universities have been awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad.

Two students from Marshall University — who received the scholarship in May — and 18 students from West Virginia University (WVU) were among the thousands of recipients of the national scholarship. 

Anette Silva Licona, a Marshall junior majoring in anthropology, is studying in Austria for one month this summer. Kayla Roberts, a Marshall senior, is using her funds to travel throughout Japan.

From WVU:

• Ethan Barahona, a marketing major from Martinsburg, will use the funds to travel to Japan.
  
  
• Bella Botero, a nursing major from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, will use the funds to travel to Spain.
  
  
• Alexa Gamarra, a political science and international studies double major from Fairfax, Virginia, will use the funds to travel to France.
  
  
• Annabella Gorostieta, an economics major, will use the funds to travel to Kenya.
  
  
• Alexis Hicks, an interior architecture major from Charleston, will use the funds to travel to Western Europe.
  
  
• Karina Leach, an environmental and natural resources economics major from Lancaster, Ohio, will use the funds to travel to Italy.
  
  
• Lauryn Lynch, a criminology major from Gnadenhutten, Ohio, will use the funds to travel to Spain.
  
  
• Alexander Nichols, a psychology major from Ravenswood, will use the funds to travel to the United Kingdom.
  
  
• Josslyn Rice, a criminology major from Buckhannon, will use the funds to travel to Spain.
  
  
• Elijah Riggleman, a history major from Morgantown, will use the funds to travel to the Czech Republic.
  
  
• Holly Rogers, a sport, exercise and performance psychology major from Rockville, Maryland, will use the funds to travel to Peru.
  
  
• Abigail Sherrill, an interior architecture major from Elkins, will use the funds to travel to Western Europe.
  
  
• Gabriele Smith, a philosophy major from Forestville, New York, will use the funds to travel to Thailand.
  
  
• William Snidow, a philosophy major from Charleston, will use the funds to travel to France.
  
  
• Chloe Thomas, a psychology major from Martinsburg, will use the funds to travel to London.
  
  
• Alexia Whitehair, an anthropology major from Pennsboro, will use the funds to travel to the United Kingdom.
  
  
• James Williams, an exercise physiology major from Moorefield, will use the funds to travel to Switzerland.
  
  
• Sarah Wilson, a psychology major from Wheeling, will use the funds to travel to Switzerland.

Students from WVU and Marshall have become regular recipients of the scholarship in recent years, with 16 students from the two universities receiving the award in 2024. Another student from Shepherd University also received the scholarship that year.

Available to undergraduates who receive federal Pell Grant funding, the Gilman Scholarship enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad with up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad or internship program costs. 

The Gilman program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE).