Students receive prestigious scholarships for international study

LAWRENCE — Seventeen outstanding University of Kansas students or recent graduates were selected as recipients of nationally competitive scholarships that will fund overseas study and internships in nine countries this summer and fall. 

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholars

Gilman Scholars are selected from a group of highly competitive undergraduates for study abroad funding. Recipients are awarded up to $5,000 to apply toward the cost of study or interning abroad during the summer term. A key goal of the Gilman scholarship program is to provide opportunities for students to study in foreign countries and regions regardless of socioeconomic constraints. Twelve University of Kansas students received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for summer 2017:

• Aaron Carrillo, a sophomore human biology and anthropology double major, is interning abroad in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.           
• Brandon Wiederholt is studying at the Language Institute in Eutin, Germany. Wiederholt is a junior pursuing a major in English and minor in philosophy.
• Sara Latos is participating in hospital shadowing for pre-health majors in Spain. Latos, a first-generation freshman, studies pre-sport science.
• Kyle Ta is hospital shadowing in Spain. Ta is a sophomore double majoring in pre-medicine biology and philosophy with a minor in German studies.
• Matthew Santoyo, a sophomore aerospace engineering student in the University Honors Program, is studying German at the Language Institute in Holzkirchen, Germany.
• Anastasiya Skvortsova, a senior majoring in engineering physics with a minor in German, is attending the Language Institute in Holzkirchen, Germany.
• Emily Hoy is a FLAS fellow, studying at the Baobab Center in Dakar, Senegal, through the Experience Senegal Program. Hoy is a junior pursuing the Global Awareness Certificate, a major in African & African-American Studies, and a minor in French.
• Brooke Lapke, a junior, is hospital shadowing with the Atlantis project in Alcazar de San Juan, Spain. Lapke is seeking a degree in pre-med microbiology with a Spanish minor and Global Awareness Certificate.
• Sophia Sanchez is participating in the Spain hospital shadowing program for pre-health majors. Sanchez is a junior pursuing a psychology major and the Leadership Studies Certificate.
• Liandra Moore, a global & international studies and sociology double major, is a senior studying at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea. Moore is also participating in the Global Awareness Certificate Program.
• Samuel Steuart is hospital shadowing in Spain. Steuart is a sophomore in the University Honors Program and pursuing a pre-med biochemistry major.
• Alex Trujillo, a sophomore architectural engineering student, is attending the Language Institute in Holzkirchen, Germany.

David L. Boren Scholars

KU student Madeline DuBois, a global & international studies major, will study Arabic in the United Arab Emirates for the fall semester with the support of the David L. Boren Scholarship. Boren Scholarships provide funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduates to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad. In exchange for funding, Boren Scholars commit to working in the federal government for at least one year upon graduation.

Department of State Critical Language Scholars

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. CLS provides scholarship support to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to spend eight to 10 weeks overseas studying one of 14 critical languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish or Urdu. The three recipients from KU join approximately 550 competitively selected American students who received a CLS award in 2017.

• Ellen Nasseri is learning Persian in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Nasseri graduated in May as a University Honors Program scholar, with departmental honors for her English degree, and received highest distinction from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.
• Wendy Gong is studying Chinese in Changchun, China. Gong graduated this year with a bachelor's degree in nursing.
• Abigail Schletzbaum is in Jaipur, India, studying Hindi. Schletzbaum graduated in May with degrees in public administration and global & international studies. She was an Honors Program scholar and received both distinction and departmental honors in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.