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Western Illinois University junior management major Melanie Herrera-Ortiz, of Moline, IL, is pictured in South Korea. She is one of 800 American undergraduate students from 356 colleges and universities selected to receive the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad.
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Western Illinois University's Melanie Herrera-Ortiz Awarded International Scholarship

January 12, 2015

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MACOMB, IL - - Western Illinois University junior management major Melanie Herrera-Ortiz, of Moline, IL, is one of 800 American undergraduate students from 356 colleges and universities selected to receive the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad during the Spring 2015 semester. Herrera-Oritz will continue her year-long study abroad exchange program at Ewha Womans University in South Korea.

The scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, awards students up to $5,000 to apply toward study abroad or internship costs. The program aims to diversify the students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go.

According to Ehren Kuzekov, study abroad adviser in the WIU Office of Study Abroad, the Gilman Scholarship is an "extremely competitive and prestigious scholarship."

"Study abroad is a special experience for every student who participates," said Congressman Gilman, who retired in 2002 after serving in the House of Representatives for 30 years and serving as the chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee. "Living and learning in a vastly different environment of another nation not only exposes our students to alternate views, but also adds an enriching social and cultural experience. It also provides students with the opportunity to return home with a deeper understanding of their place in the world, encouraging them to be a contributor, rather than a spectator in the international community."

The full list of students who have been selected to receive the Gilman Scholarship is available at iie.org/gilman.

For more information about WIU's study abroad programs, visit wiu.edu/studyabroad or call (309) 298-2504.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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