Three Southwestern students have been awarded Benjamin Gilman International Scholarships to study abroad this summer. The scholarships, which are highly competitive, are sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and designed to help U.S. undergraduate students pursue academic studies abroad, particularly in areas outside of Western Europe and Australia.

Jessica Parada, a sophomore who is double majoring in psychology and Spanish, and  Antonio Lopez, a sophomore who is double majoring in chemistry and Spanish and minoring in biology, will use their scholarships to participate in Southwestern’s six-week program in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  

Alan Ramos, a sophomore philosophy major, received a $4,000 scholarship he will use to study in Beijing, China, for eight weeks through CIEE’s study abroad program

Gilman Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of an application plus a proposal for a “follow on project” that will be completed after they return from study abroad.

For her project, Parada plans to record different Argentinian people telling her why they love their country, in one word. She also plans to bring back objects and pictures and share everything with students at her hometown high school.

“I hope to give them an interactive experience that they can carry with them for long after they graduate,” she said.

For his project, Lopez plans to do a seminar for Southwestern students about how he incorporated the sciences into his study abroad experience. Ramos plans to keep a blog while he is abroad and wants to promote a major in Chinese at Southwestern when he returns, as well as the benefits of study abroad.

Southwestern has had 11 students receive Gilman International Scholarships in the past three years.