15 selected for Gilman Scholarships

Six University of North Georgia (UNG) students were named winners of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship after having been designated alternates in the fall, bringing UNG's total number of honorees from the mid-year applicants to 15.

Abbey Fuchs, Jenny Gault, Audrey Gleason, Olivia Harden, Juan Linares, and Maria Jose Lopez Vincero are the newest Gilman winners.

Providing up to $8,000, the nationally competitive scholarship enables U.S. undergraduate students who are eligible for the Pell grant to study or intern abroad and gain skills critical to national security and economic competitiveness.

"We are thrilled for the students who have been selected as Gilman Scholars and for those who have been named alternates. The hard work and persistence of these students has helped them to achieve this nationally competitive scholarship," Dr. Kathryn Quinto, fellowships coordinator for the Nationally Competitive Scholarships (NCS) office, said. "The NCS team is grateful for the invaluable collaboration with the Center for Global Engagement and the faculty and staff who support these students throughout the process."

Susana Olivo Sandoval, a junior from Gainesville, Georgia, pursuing a dual major in modern languages with a concentration in Spanish language and literature and East Asian studies with a Japanese concentration. She will study in Japan, and she was also awarded Japan’s Bridging Scholarship and the Fund for Education Abroad Scholarship.

The hard work and persistence of these students has helped them to achieve this nationally competitive scholarship.

Dr. Kathryn Quinto

fellowships coordinator for the Nationally Competitive Scholarships office

"The Gilman Scholarship will give me the opportunity to study in Spain and gain a new perspective on the culture and share this experience with my future students. I am very excited for this new experience," Filomeno said.

Hunter Mauldin, a senior from Chatsworth, Georgia, pursuing a degree in English with a writing and publishing concentration, will study in the United Kingdom.

"Receiving the Gilman Scholarship means so much to me because it is one of the first proofs of my hard work during my college career," Mauldin said. "I think the Gilman Scholarship is important because it gives financially disadvantaged students like myself the opportunity to explore the world and do things with their life and career that otherwise would be inaccessible."

The other Gilman recipients this fall include:

• Senior Cassandra Canakis, a cybersecurity major
• Senior Diana Davenport, a modern languages/Chinese major
• Junior Haley Menees, a biology major
• Senior Hannah Menees, a biology major
• Junior Savannah Miles, a psychology major
• Sophomore Cody Parker, a modern language/Chinese major

Anabella Miranda and Jennifer Ramirez remain as Gilman alternates.