CONWAY, Ark. (November 20, 2013) – Two Hendrix students
received awards from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program to
pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented
internships abroad.
The
Hendrix recipients of the Gilman Scholarship are:
- Joshua Hall, a junior from Sheridan, Ark.
- Brittany Hearn, a junior from Texarkana, Texas
The Gilman Scholarship Program offers grants for U.S.
citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic
studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad to better
prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global
economy and interdependent world.
Hall will study issues related to the European Union
(integration, security, institutions, public policy, etc.) next semester through
the Hendrix-in-Brussels program at the Institute of European Studies at Vrije
Universiteit Brussel (Brussels Free University). He will also write and defend
a research paper under the direction of an IES professor and complete an internship
with a public, private or nonprofit organization. IES grants graduate degrees
only but, through a special agreement with Hendrix, educates Hendrix students
as well.
Hearn will study abroad this spring through an ISEP
exchange program at the Uniwersytet Wrocławski (University of Wrocław),
Poland. She will enroll in a variety of classes, mostly with Polish students.
Wroclaw was founded in the 10th century and is one of the oldest cities in
Poland with a long and rich history. In the following centuries it was ruled at
various times by the Germans, Bohemians, and Prussians. Founded by Leopold I of
Habsburg, the University evolved from a modest school run by Jesuits into a
large, comprehensive university with more than 42,000 students. Brittany is on
the second Hendrix student to study abroad in Poland in the past seven years.
“At Hendrix, we try to minimize hurdles that may prevent
students from undertaking transformative, study-abroad experiences,” said Dr.
Peter Gess, Director of the Odyssey and International Programs at Hendrix and a
politics and environmental studies professor. "The Gilman Scholarship will allow
Josh and Brittany to complement and deepen their Hendrix educations by engaging
with foreign cultures and higher education institutions with differing
pedagogies, courses and student bodies.”
This congressionally funded program is sponsored by the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State
and is administered by the Institute of International Education through
its office in Houston, Texas. Named after retired congressman Benjamin A.
Gilman from New York, the program was established by the International Academic
Opportunity Act of 2000.
Congressman Gilman, who retired in 2002 after serving in
the House of Representatives for 30 years and chairing the House Foreign
Relations Committee, commented, "Study abroad is a special experience for
every student who participates. 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 our
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."
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in
engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the sixth consecutive year,
Hendrix was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by
U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think about Colleges,
as well as the 2014 Princeton Review’s The Best 378 Colleges, Forbes magazine's list of America's Top Colleges, and
the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United
Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.