BOONE, N.C. — The Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships (NCS), a division of University College at Appalachian State University, announces a record six Appalachian students have been awarded the U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship — the most to be recognized during a single Gilman award cycle. Appalachian’s previous record was five Gilman Scholars named during the second award cycle of the 2016–17 academic year.

Recipients are scheduled to study or intern abroad beginning in January 2021.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the international travel component of the Gilman award, some of the students’ chosen programs were canceled. However, students now have several options, including choosing a new program/location, deferring to another program planned within the time frame of Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2021, or switching to a virtual program.

The Gilman Scholars and their potential 2021 destinations:

• Senior Victoria Anderson, of Rutherfordton; College of Arts and Sciences (CAS); Dominican Republic.
• Senior Ciara Sailar, of Raleigh; CAS; Italy.
• Sophomore Jemiah Williams, of Thomasville; CAS; United Kingdom.
• Senior Michael Gaines, of Stanley; College of Fine and Applied Arts (FAA); Spain.
• Junior Stephany Garcia Henao, of Pereira, Colombia; FAA; Belgium.
• Junior Makayla Nordine, of Hendersonville; Beaver College of Health Sciences; Costa Rica.

The Gilman International Scholarship Program — funded by the U.S. Department of State in honor of the late Benjamin A. Gilman, a former U.S. representative from New York — increases the number of students who study or intern abroad by providing financial support to undergraduates who could not otherwise afford to travel internationally. The scholarship makes it possible for recipients to experience international cultures and to learn languages of their choice.

Each Gilman Scholar receives up to $5,000 in funding to study or intern abroad. Applicants who intend to study a critical need language while abroad can apply for a supplemental Gilman Critical Need Language Award of up to $3,000, for a combined scholarship total of up to $8,000.

Since its inception in 2001, the program has provided funding for 31,000 award recipients, from 1,335 U.S. institutions, to study or intern in 151 countries.

About App State’s Gilman Scholars

Victoria Anderson

College of Arts and Sciences

Victoria Anderson, a senior criminal justice major with a concentration in international studies, plans to use her Gilman award to intern with the social development organization Entrena, located in the Dominican Republic. In addition, Anderson will work with the independent nonprofit organization Alerta Joven, which is dedicated to improving the human condition.

“I will be working to gain a deeper understanding on the issues of child marriage and domestic violence in the Dominican Republic,” Anderson said.

During her internship, Anderson will also take virtual Spanish language classes. “When I return, I plan on connecting both of these programs together to make a study abroad guide for first-generation college students like myself,” she said.

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Ciara Sailar

College of Arts and Sciences

Ciara Sailar is a senior geology major with a concentration in paleontology. She explained that the Gilman Scholarship has made it possible for her to attend an Appalachian faculty-led field camp in Italy — an experience that will fulfill her geology capstone requirement.

“It has always been a dream of mine to travel to Italy to study both the geologic history and the culture of the country,” said Sailar, who hopes to gain a better understanding of Italian language and cuisine while also fine-tuning her geologic mapping skills during her study abroad experience.

“When I return, I hope to spread awareness of the Gilman Scholarship within the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Appalachian so that others may use this resource as a way to travel abroad while fulfilling their field camp requirement,” Sailar said.

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Jemiah Williams

College of Arts and Sciences

Sophomore Jemiah Williams, whose professional aspiration is to become a social justice attorney or an international relations sociologist, is a sociology major with a concentration in social inequalities and a minor in history.

Williams was recently accepted into the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP), which allows students to switch their respective country and college with that of a student from another country as a way of building cultural competence. She explained that the Gilman award will help her realize several goals by providing the funds needed to travel to the United Kingdom.

“While studying abroad, I would like to gain a better understanding of other individuals from marginalized groups like myself,” Williams said. “I believe that this foundation will strengthen my academic abilities in the field of sociology and allow me to open my scope of education as I further my studies.”

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Michael Gaines

College of Fine and Applied Arts

Michael Gaines, a nontraditional student at Appalachian and author who is working on his third book about the life of a beer brewer, returned to college after a 12-year hiatus. Gaines, who is majoring in studio art with a concentration in photography, plans to travel to Spain to study ceramics.

Gaines said he hopes to inspire other nontraditional students to study abroad, adding, “When I decided to go back to school, a number of friends told me that my focus and dedication to it were inspiring and they were going back to school as well.”

He continued, “I wanted to use that positive energy to be able to share my experiences with studying abroad, how the Gilman Scholarship helped to make that possible, and try to persuade others to do the same. I want them to see that it is possible.”

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Stephany Garcia Henao

Beaver College of Health Sciences

Junior Honors College student Stephany Garcia Henao is majoring in industrial design and minoring in sustainable technology. She plans to use her Gilman award to travel to Belgium and study at Howest University in Kortrijk for a full year starting Feb. 1, 2021.

“I will cover design collaboration projects with students from other fields as well as immerse in the Belgian student design curriculum, which is one of the main reasons I want to go to this school,” Henao said.

Her goal is to become a sustainable designer in the field of product design or the electrical car/clean energy business.

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Makayla Nordine

Beaver College of Health Sciences

Makayla Nordine, a junior majoring in exercise science with a minor in Spanish, aims to use her Gilman award to travel to Costa Rica next year. She expects to enhance her Spanish language skills while there.

Nordine explained that she was attracted to the Gilman Scholarship Program because of its requirement to complete a post-program project.

She said, “This means I will have the ability to share my experience with other students when I return and hopefully help more students with financial setbacks be able to study abroad!”

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Gilman encourages applications from first-generation college students, students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, those in the military, students attending community colleges and minority-serving institutions and any student interested in traveling abroad.

For more information about the Gilman Scholarship Program and how to apply, contact Appalachian’s NCS Office at [email protected] or visit https://ncs.appstate.edu.

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Gilman International Scholarship at Appalachian

The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, providing them with skills critical to our national security and economic prosperity, and skills that are critically important to students’ academic and career development.

Learn more

About Nationally Competitive Scholarships

Nationally Competitive Scholarships (NCS) works with the Appalachian community to recruit and support students for nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships, including those that support research, teaching and critical language learning. This is achieved with outreach, mentorship and advising throughout the entire application and selection process. NCS is committed to helping undergraduate and graduate students find ways to connect their Appalachian education to their future endeavors through scholarship opportunities. Learn more at https://ncs.appstate.edu.

About University College

Formed in 2007, University College consists of the university’s general education program, faculty and student support, and co-curricular programming and support – all designed to support the work of students both inside and outside the classroom. All students at Appalachian begin their education in University College and benefit from its programs until they graduate. Learn more at https://universitycollege.appstate.edu.

About the Beaver College of Health Sciences

Appalachian State University’s Beaver College of Health Sciences (BCHS), opened in 2010, is transforming the health and quality of life for the communities it serves through interprofessional collaboration and innovation in teaching, scholarship, service and clinical outreach. The college enrolls more than 3,600 students and offers 10 undergraduate degree programs, nine graduate degree programs and four certificates across six departments: Nursing, Nutrition and Health Care Management, Public Health and Exercise Science, Recreation Management and Physical Education, Rehabilitation Sciences, and Social Work. The college’s academic programs are located in the Holmes Convocation Center on App State’s main campus and the Levine Hall of Health Sciences, a state-of-the-art, 203,000-square-foot facility that is the cornerstone of Boone’s Wellness District. In addition, the college supports the Appalachian Institute for Health and Wellness and has collaborative partnerships with the Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Program, UNC Health Appalachian and numerous other health agencies. Learn more at https://healthsciences.appstate.edu.

About the College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.

About the College of Fine and Applied Arts

Appalachian State University’s College of Fine and Applied Arts is a dynamic and innovative group of seven academic departments, bringing together a variety of perspectives, experiences and real-world education to provide unique opportunities for student success. The college has more than 3,500 undergraduate and graduate majors. Its departments are Applied Design, Art, Communication, Military Science and Leadership, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Technology and the Built Environment, and Theatre and Dance. Learn more at https://cfaa.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.