Beulah Agyemang-Barimah, Class of 2017, has been awarded a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for the summer 2016 semester. The highly competitive scholarship allows U.S. undergraduate students with financial need to pursue academic studies abroad.

“My original reaction to the award was pure elation,” says Agyemang-Barimah. “The benefit for me in terms of my studies is that I will get to study abroad which for a long time was something I didn’t think I could, and I’ll be able to graduate with three majors.”

The Southwestern senior was awarded $2,500 to study in Argentina. During the summer 2016 cycle, the Gilman Scholarship Program reviewed more than 3,400 applications. Agyemang-Barimah is one of 950 students who received a scholarship. Scholarship recipients were 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.

“Beulah is an excellent student who is unfailingly positive and excited to interact with new people, languages, and experiences,” says Tisha Temple, Director of Intercultural Learning at Southwestern. “Beulah is branching out beyond biology and focusing on an intensive language program in Argentina. She absolutely deserves this scholarship, and we are so proud of her.”

The Gilman International Scholarship Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and administered by the Institute of International Education. It serves to encourage U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world. Students are encouraged to choose non-traditional study abroad destinations, in particular, areas outside of Western Europe and Australia.

For more information on the Gilman International Scholarship Program, visit www.iie.org/gilman.