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Photo Caption: Six WKU students have been honored by the have been honored by the nationally competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program. From left: Gilman Scholars Bridgette Davis of Bowling Green, Amy Givens of Bowling Green, Jeremiah Stringer of Monticello, Megan Lemily of Bowling Green, Cody Tutt of Owensboro; and alternate Marie Angeles of Somerset.

Six WKU students have been honored by the nationally competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program.

Bridgette Davis of Bowling Green, Amy Givens of Bowling Green, Jeremiah Stringer of Monticello, Megan Lemily of Bowling Green and Cody Tutt of Owensboro were named Gilman Scholars and will receive up to $5,000 each toward their study abroad or internship program costs. Marie Angeles of Somerset was named an alternate.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs awarded scholarships to 800 American undergraduate students from 356 colleges and universities. The scholarship is named after Rep. Gilman, who retired in 2002 after serving in the House of Representatives for 30 years and chairing the House Foreign Relations Committee.

The Gilman Scholarship Program offers study abroad scholarships to undergraduates receiving Pell grants. The program is intended to increase diversity in study abroad by funding the travel of underrepresented groups including ethnic minorities; students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and students with disabilities, and by funding travel to underrepresented countries, especially those outside western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The strongest applications are written by students who will earn credit applicable to their major field of study while abroad.

Bridgette Davis, a fourth-year student with a major in middle school math education and science and math education, is the daughter of Glenn and Lisa Davis. She will be student teaching in Ecuador at a private school with an enrollment of about 1,000. Davis said the experience “will better prepare me for diversity in my classroom one day. It will give me the opportunity to explore and understand a new culture.”

Amy Givens, a fourth-year student majoring in public health education, is the daughter of Wayne and Sara Burden. She will study healthcare in India. “I will have the opportunity to observe the differences between India’s urban and rural healthcare systems,” she said, “from large specialty hospitals in Mumbai, the fifth largest city in the world, to basic healthcare delivery in the villages surrounding Malalvi, so that I am able to gain a comprehensive understanding of India’s healthcare sector.”

Megan Lemily, a fourth-year student majoring in elementary education, is the daughter of Bernie and Carolyn Lemily. She will be student teaching in Barcelona, Spain. She is a member of the Kentucky Educators Association-Student Program at WKU and has volunteered with the Kelly Autism Center, the Bowling Green Housing Authority and the Bowling Green Boys and Girls Club.

Jeremiah Jerome Stringer, a fourth-year student majoring in mathematics and secondary education, is the son of Renita and Randall Stinger. He will be student teaching at Colegio Menor in Quito, Ecuador. He is a member of SKySO, which provides opportunities for professional growth through service and professional development experiences.

Cody Ray Tutt is a fourth-year student majoring in chemistry and Chinese. He will study in South Korea and spent the spring 2014 semester studying in Beijing, China. “The experience was full of special memories which is why I am so eager to go again so quickly,” he said.

Marie Angeles, a second-year student with a major in finance and minor in economics, is the daughter of Gary and Mary Jane Worley. She is a student in the Honors College at WKU and will study business at Reutlingen University in Germany if she receives a scholarship. She is an Honors Topper, a member of the Economics Club and Alpha Delta Pi sorority and a volunteer for Center for Gifted Studies’ Super Saturdays program.

Each of the students worked with the Office of Scholar Development at WKU in preparing their Gilman Scholarship application. Additionally, the Office of Study Abroad and Global Leadership (SAGL) worked with the students to find the right academic program abroad, helping them to have life changing international experiences.

Cheryl Kirby-Stokes, Coordinator of Nationally Competitive Opportunities for the OSD, said the best part of her job is working with highly motivated students who are pursuing their studies in a different cultural context.

“It’s always a pleasure working with Gilman scholarship applicants. Because of the questions asked in the essays, I get to have extended conversations with the students, learning about their big dreams for their future and why they want to pursue study abroad,” she said. “I am almost as happy as the students when I hear they’ve received the scholarship.”

About the Office of Scholar Development: The Office of Scholar Development is committed to helping WKU students in all majors and degree programs develop the vision, experience and skills to be independent, engaged scholars. OSD welcomes the opportunity to work with students interested in nationally competitive scholarships.

About the Office of Study Abroad and Global Learning (SAGL): SAGL serves the WKU community by engaging students, faculty and staff in diverse, educational, and cultural experiences through faculty-led, exchange, consortia and other study abroad opportunities. For information about the Office of Study Abroad, visit www.wku.edu/studyabroad. The office can be contacted via e-mail at study.abroad@wku.edu or by telephone at (270) 745-5334.

Contact: Cheryl Kirby-Stokes, (270) 745-4191.