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Students Awarded Gilman International Scholarships
Congratulations to Kayleen Meinen, Asha Richards and Brianna Sandy!
University News | January 13, 2020
The world awaits three Virginia Wesleyan juniors, Kayleen Meinen, Asha Richards and Brianna Sandy, who will be studying away during the spring semester thanks to support from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. Each student has been awarded a $4,000 scholarship through the highly-selective program, which is overseen by the Institute of International Education, a division of the U.S. State Department.
Meinen, an Earth & Environmental Science major, will be studying in Los Angeles de Atenas, Costa Rica, with The School of Field Studies. Richards, an International Studies & Political Science major, is headed to Accra, Ghana, to study with the School for International Training, and Sandy, a political science major, will be studying in Rabat, Morocco, with the School for International Training.
Mandy Reinig, director of the study away program at Virginia Wesleyan, assisted the students throughout the application process.
According to Reinig, the Gilman Scholarship provides students the opportunity to experience the world without taking on additional financial obligations, beyond the cost of college itself.
“The Gilman Scholarship Program allows study abroad to become a more affordable option for students,” says Reinig. “It also promotes studying abroad in non-traditional locations, by non-traditional majors, and by non-traditional students.”
Reinig notes that students selected for this prestigious honor are required to pay it forward by working with their institutions to discuss and promote their experiences and the Gilman program upon their return, with the goal of encouraging more students to study abroad.
Virginia Wesleyan’s Study Away program offers several long-term and short-term study away options for students. Learn more on the VWU website.