Five Fords Awarded Gilman International Scholarships

Studying abroad is a unique opportunity for students to enhance their education by immersing themselves in a foreign culture. This year, five Haverford juniors are studying abroad with the help of the U.S. Department of State's prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. The Gilman program, which aims to ensure that U.S. students are better prepared to“assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world,” enables college students with significant financial need to overcome the additional financial challenge of studying abroad. Recipients of the award receive up to $5,000 in support. When they return to their home institutions they must plan for a follow-up project that promotes international education and the Gilman Scholarship Program.

Zack Woerner '12, a history major with a minor in Spanish, is currently studying at IFSA Butler in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He hopes to become fluent in Spanish, explore a new culture, and expand his understanding of the world.“I want to take at least one class on the history of the United States to get an outside perspective on the way we've been taught history,” he says. Woerner is also a member of the Haverford Men's Varsity Soccer Team. For his follow up project, he plans to promote study abroad programs among athletes at Haverford, and encourage them to find time for an international experience, either during the semester, or over the summer.

As a Growth and Structure of Cities major with a minor in African and Africana Studies, Dalibell Ferreira '12, is studying the impact of colonialism on collective group identities in Ghana through a State University of New York-Brockport program.“Ghana caught my interest as a developing country that, like some developing, postcolonial countries, are establishing bonds between native values and that of their colonial pasts,” she says.

Rachel Lim '12, a political science major with a minor in linguistics, is attending University College London, in the United Kingdom. She hopes to use this opportunity to“explore the relationship” between political science and linguistics while developing a thesis topic that examines how the English language has affected the trajectory of globalization.

Studying at CET Beijing, in China, has allowed Danielle Niu '12, a geology major with a double minor in economics and Chinese, to immerse herself in Chinese culture and improve her Mandarin skills, while also accomplishing major requirements by studying the structure of geological sites in China. She plans to return to China at some point to pursue research opportunities.“I would love to be able to come back and learn more about what is happening in China geologically,” she says.

Candace Jordan ‘12 is pursuing studies at Mansfield College, Oxford University. A religion major with a minor in philosophy, she has taken courses in Liberation theology, Christian ethics and Islam, as well as African American literature and creative writing. Jordan, who is spending the 2010-2011 academic year at Oxford,  says that her academic experience and her travels have already had a significant impact on her.

“Because Oxford's tutorial system requires self-motivation to such a large extent, I have definitely become more efficient in how I work and how I study,” she says.““Seeing other parts of the world, sometimes traveling alone, has really pushed me to do the things that intimidate me the most. Study Abroad continues to challenge me with risk-taking, which, I think, has instigated a tremendous amount of growth.”

Donna Mancini, Dean of International Academic Programs, is very proud of the recipients' successes. One of last year's Gilman Scholarship recipients, Emilyn Sosa ‘11, played a significant role in advising this year's recipients in the competitive application process. Her experience with the Gilman Scholarship has also motivated her to consider pursuing a master's degree in International Education Development.

“Our students won awards,” says Dean Mancini,“because they wrote incredibly articulate essays and had great proposals for how they are going to promote study abroad programs.”

--Jacob Lowy '14