Surayya Maultsby, a junior civil engineering and Arabic language major, has received a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study Arabic language and culture for six months in Amman, Jordan, this spring.
Because she’s studying Arabic, Maultsby received a Critical Need Language Award for the maximum amount of $8,000.
Maultsby is one of 850 American undergraduate students from 359 colleges and universities selected to receive a Gilman scholarship.
“I am very thankful that I was awarded a Gilman scholarship,” she said. “I look forward to continuing my Arabic studies in Jordan. I believe studying abroad is an essential part of higher education, especially for language learners. I hope to make the best of my time abroad.”
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is funded through the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000 and is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
The program offers grants for U.S. undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad. Such international exchange is intended to better prepare U.S. students to thrive in the global economy and interdependent world.
MSU’s Office of Study Abroad and the Office of Financial Aid have teamed up throughout the last few years to increase awareness and provide guidance and application assistance to MSU students applying for the Gilman. As a result, in the last five years, the number of MSU recipients of the award has quadrupled.