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Twelve Allegheny College students have been awarded a total of $37,000 in funding through the prestigious Gilman International Scholarship program to help pay for their study away experiences in 2020.

The scholarships will support Experiential Learning trips, semesters abroad and summer internships, said Patrick Jackson, director of fellowship advising at Allegheny. It is the largest number of recipients in one year in Allegheny’s history, Jackson said.

“I think the fact that we got 12 is very, very impressive. We really upped our efforts at promoting this award. The partnership between Financial Aid, International Education, and my office has obviously generated quite a lot of interest in the award, and the fact that we’ve seen so much success this year is a testament to the clear fact that our students are ready to compete for it,” said Jackson.

“A 50 percent funding rate is astounding to me; the national funding rate is only 25 percent. I think that the secret is telling honest, compelling stories about why students want to study abroad and what they hope to gain from the experience,” said Jackson.

The Allegheny students who received the awards include:

• Cesar Bautista, a junior from Houston, Texas, received $3,000 to pursue his studies in Cambodia. Bautista is a communication major with a minor in computer science.
• Precious Taylor-Forde, a sophomore from Grayson, Georgia, received $1,500 for her studies in Moldova. Taylor-Forde is majoring in psychology and minoring in global health studies.
• Inez Gilson, a sophomore from Salamanca, New York, was awarded $2,500 for her travel to Cambodia. Gilson is a double major in international studies and English.
• Markeyda Jones, a junior from Philadelphia, was awarded $5,000 to travel to China. Jones is pursuing a major in international studies and a minor in Chinese.
• Sebastian McRae, a sophomore from Redmond, Washington, received $1,500 to study in India. McRae has not declared a major.
• Alyssa Mendez, a first-year student from Old Bridge, New Jersey, received $2,500 for her studies in Moldova. Mendez has not yet declared a major.
• Emma Norton, a junior from Missoula, Montana, received $4,500 to study in Mexico. Norton is a global health studies major and a Spanish minor.
• Jessie Nunoo, a first-year student from the Bronx, New York, received $3,000 to study in Cambodia. Nunoo has not yet declared a major.
• Maryan Osman, a sophomore from Cleveland, Ohio, was awarded $1,500 to pursue her studies in India. Osman is an international studies major with a minor in community and justice studies.
• Kathryn Phillippe, a sophomore from Warrenton, Virginia, was awarded $2,500 to study in Moldova and Ukraine. Phillippe is an international studies major with a minor in French.
• Jasmine Ramirez-Soto, a junior from Santa Ana, California, received $5,000 to study in Ecuador. Ramirez-Soto is a double major in Spanish and global health studies with a minor in biology.
• Christina Winbigler, a junior from Austin, Texas, received $4,500 to study in the United Kingdom. Winbigler is a major in neuroscience and a minor in communication.

The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is a grant program that enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, thereby gaining skills critical to our national security and economic competitiveness. The program aims to encourage students to study and intern in a diverse array of countries and world regions. The program also encourages students to study languages, especially critical need languages (those deemed important to national security).