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| Wednesday, June 21
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Scholarship will send SIUE student to Dakar |
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville junior Ian Williams has been selected to receive a scholarship that will enable him to travel to Dakar, Senegal.
Williams is the first SIUE student to receive the $5,000 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Award.
He said winning the award is a dream come true.
"It is a wonderful thing," Williams told the SIUE Office of Public Affairs. "It is wonderful that the U.S. State Department is supporting the Study Abroad Program. "I am excited. It is a big investment in me."
With majors in political science and French, Williams will study French and the Wolof-a West African dialect, as well as international conflict resolution. His course of study will take place Aug. 20 to Dec 17.
Competition for the scholarship is very keen. According to the Gilman Web site, 1,007 applications were received for the academic year 2006-07, while there were only 389 awards available. Scholarship applicants hoping to participate in the study abroad programs worldwide must be Federal Pell Grant recipients attending a two-year or four-year college or university.
Williams said he is looking forward to his trip and hopes to learn from his experience.
"Travel is my passion, it enriches my life and improves me as a person," Williams said.
He is leaving early to visit Mauritania, Mali, and parts of the Western Sahara into Senegal. He hopes to work with the State Department in diplomacy, with the Foreign Service, or the United Nations.
source: www.goedwardsville.com
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posted by ^%&^
@ 7:35 AM
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