The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is available for students who are looking to study abroad.
The Gilman Scholarship is a program of the U.S. State Department. To apply for the scholarship, undergraduate students must be U.S. citizens in good academic standing, Federal Pell Grant recipients and participating in a program that is at least three weeks in length.
“It was created to diversify the student body that studies abroad,” said Lizette Leal, an international programs specialist for International Programs & Partnerships at UTRGV. “So, it’s really targeting our student population. So, first-generation college students, Hispanic students, STEM students, veterans are highly preferred and have priority.”
The Gilman Scholarship awards up to $5,000, while the Gilman Critical Need Language Award is a maximum $8,000 if the program is language-based.
Isidro Zapata, a computer engineering junior, president of the Study Abroad Club and a student assistant for International Programs & Partnerships, is the first UTRGV student to be awarded the Gilman Critical Need Language Award.
Zapata, who has taken Chinese and Korean language classes, was planning to study abroad in China, but due to the travel advisories regarding the novel coronavirus outbreak, is hoping to study in South Korea now. The Gilman Scholarship requires two essays, a transcript and an optional third essay if it is a language course such as the one Zapata hopes to take.
“I shared my experience that I had with a Chinese woman, and I kind of wrote it and formalized [it] in a way that made me want to fight the xenophobic culture, especially in our community,” Zapata said.
Leal said she noticed an upsurge in student interest for the South Korean study abroad programs.
“I don’t know if it has to do with the K-pop movement, or just the general Asian studies minor kicking off for the last three years, but the South Korea programs, short term and long term, are very popular right now,” she said.
Eighteen UTRGV students received The Gilman Scholarship last year, the highest number of recipients in UTRGV’s history, according to a June 13 news release from The Newsroom at UTRGV.
The application deadline is March 3, and Leal suggests students not wait until the last minute to turn in the application.
“The main thing is that you do have to invest time in essays and revise them,” she said.
Leal said International Programs & Partnerships is available as a resource to give feedback on the application essays.
“Most of our work-studies have received Gilman, so they’re available as well to give feedback,” she said.
Zapata also believes giving time to your application essay would be the best thing to improve your chances at the scholarship.
“It was good for me to see someone else tell me, like, ‘Oh, this is good. … This is something that will set you apart,”’ he said.
Zapata said Leal can inform students about what they are looking for in the application essays.
“[Scholarship officials] tell her pretty much what we’re looking for this year,” he said. “And, you know, things may change. They may see trends, like, in the … national culture.”
Another resource that is available for students is the Writing Center on the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses.
Magdalena Flores, a student support and tutoring specialist for the Writing Center in Edinburg, said they have helped students before with this type of writing.
“We can help with organization,” Flores said. “We can even help with development. They don’t even have to have anything written when they come in. If they just want to go through the brainstorming stage with us, we can also help them sort of outline their ideas, you know, and so on.”
Students do not need appointments for the Writing Center, and can spend 30 minutes getting feedback on their paper. Flores said they even have online services if students cannot physically go to the center.
“We have a send-your-assignment service,” Flores said. “[Students] basically will upload their essay, and a tutor will look at their essay and give them feedback.”
The Writing Center also offers tutoring through Skype or Zoom.
“They’re [students] pretty much trying to persuade their audience that they are the candidates … to win the scholarships,” Flores said.
She said it is important to look at what the scholarship is asking for specifically.
“Make sure that … you are addressing everything that the scholarship prompts are asking you to address,” Flores said.
The office of International Programs & Partnerships will host Gilman workshops on the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses. The workshops will be held at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday and Feb. 20 in the Student Academic Center 2.130 on the Edinburg campus and from noon to 1 p.m. on Feb. 18 in Library 3.206 on the Brownsville campus.
Leal said that studying abroad is not cheap but that there is funding for it and that many UTRGV students are capable of obtaining these funds through scholarships.
“The beauty of The Gilman Scholarship is that they can apply for Gilman … without any type of financial commitment, and then if they get the funding, then they can apply for the program and commit to the program,” Leal said.
International Programs & Partnerships has a scholarship that awards $500 to $1,000, depending on funding. The deadline for the application is April 1.
Zapata said he wants to counter the stigma that only rich people can study abroad and encourages UTRGV students to visit the International Programs & Partnerships office to learn about the opportunities.
