Be inspired.
|
Be you.
|
 This is part two of interviewing Gilman scholarship recipients. Today, Martha will share her experience with the Gilman scholarship and studying abroad. Where did you go for the study abroad trip/what did you study?
I went to Scotland and studied the history of punk. The cities we stayed at for the program were Glasgow and Edinburgh. I was part of the Faculty Led Education Abroad Program, so we were a group of UCR students led by a UCR professor. The official name of the media and cultural studies class is Subcultural Affiliations: Transatlantic Popular Culture. What is your major? My major is creative writing, and my minor is in media and cultural studies. How did the ability to receive the Gilman Scholarship impact you? The ability to receive the Gilman Scholarship helped me to pay off the loans for my study abroad program. It helped me find ways to fund my study abroad trip. It also has given me the opportunity to connect with other professionals in order to help other first-generation students get the opportunity to study abroad. What personal or financial challenges might have prevented you from going abroad? Financially, I may not have been able to go abroad if I had not received aid. One of my loans did not arrive into my account in time and I owed $1000 that I had to pay out of my own pocket. Personally, I was terrified of traveling internationally by myself, so I almost thought of not going because I was scared that I would get lost or something. However, my fears were eased after finding other peers who have traveled international and being able to receive tips and guidance on how to navigate that. Would you have been able to finance the study abroad trip without the scholarship? I was awarded the Gilman scholarship when I returned from my trip. Without the Gilman, I planned to use loans and my refund check from spring quarter. While I would have been able to get the loans to study abroad, I would have been in more debt than I would have liked had I not received the scholarship especially as I’m going into fall quarter. Had I not received the scholarship at all, then I would be completely broke right now. What is something you know now, that you wish you knew before the trip? I wish I knew not to bring a towel, since the place I was staying at provided towels. I also wished I knew that I did not need all the stuff recommended to purchase for traveling abroad. I think the majority of my money went into buying stuff to prepare myself for an emergency, but now I have all these things like two charger adapters that I won’t use ever again. So, while it’s good to plan for an emergency, chances are that I won’t need ALL the items. Instead, I could have bought smaller quantities of the items and not stressed out so much on what to pack for the program. I also wish I knew to be more adventurous. I was scared of interacting with Scottish people because I was scared of not understanding their accents and looking like a fool. In reality, Scottish people are very nice. Throughout my study abroad program, I saw some of my classmates talking to locals and they learned so much more about their culture. I wished I would have taken that chance to not be afraid to look silly. Why is the opportunity to study abroad important to you as an individual and to students in general? The opportunity to study abroad is important to me because I would not have the opportunity to travel outside of the state again. I am a first-generation college student, and the only other person in my family who has gone to college was my cousin. She kept encouraging me to study abroad because she did not take that opportunity when she was a student. I also have other mentors and professional staff members who kept encouraging me to study abroad because they never did it and it was their biggest regret. As a student, I think the opportunity to study abroad is important because it allows us to get out of our comfort zones to experience a new culture. We are at this point of our lives were we are still learning and growing, so going abroad to meet new people, new cultures, new experiences is something that has shaped how I view the rest of my career. Many of us, students, believe that we cannot afford to study abroad. I used to think that too, but it is important for us to know that there is aid available.
0 Comments
 If you've been following my blog for sometime, you may know I went on a study abroad trip this past summer to Brazil. What you may not know is, I received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to help finance my trip. I would not have gone on the trip without it. What is this scholarship? Well, straight from the Gilman scholarship website it says, "The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is a grant program that enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, thereby gaining skills critical to our national security and economic competitiveness." I am grateful for this scholarship that allowed me to expand my horizons and learn about another culture while living and studying there. As a recipient of the scholarship, I had to create a Follow-up Service Project that promoted and informed others about the scholarship opportunity. I want students to be encouraged to study abroad. My project was to interview students and create a blog post about their experience. Today, you will read about Nick's experience with the Gilman Scholarship and his trip to England. Where and what did you study?
I went abroad summer of 2018 to study math in England. How did the ability to receive the Gilman Scholarship impact you? I was relieved to have received the Gilman Scholarship, covering more than half of the trip, because I knew I could afford the rest out of pocket. Even if I had not received the scholarship, I had already made up my mind to go abroad, even if it meant I would have taken out loans to finance the trip. Nothing would have prevented me from studying abroad. This scholarship made me comfortable to experience a different culture without so many financial limitations. Would you have been able to finance the study abroad trip without the scholarship? There are many cost that I didn’t think of as I went abroad, the groceries and transportation, but I still wanted to experience all the fun. I visited different cities and attractions, London Eye, Big Ben, the London Tower, and so much more. The scholarship made the whole trip even better than it would have been without it, I was humbled to completely open my mind to a whole new world. What is something you know now, that you wish you knew before the trip? The only thing I would change about my trip is how prepared I was to travel to England. I had briefly looked online for some fun attractions, but there is so much to England I didn’t know about. I wish I knew about the little holes in the wall and some of the less known, more local, places to visit. Why is the opportunity to study abroad important to you as an individual and to students in general? To fully enjoy a new culture, it is important to know what locals’ lives are like, the stores they visit, the restaurants they eat at, and their daily routines. I truly believe everyone should experience a different culture to expand their world knowledge. Its humbling experiencing life in a world you’re unfamiliar with. In the society we live in today its necessary for all students to experience this. We must become a global citizen to grow our understanding of the situations we are in today and to improve the conditions of our life. There is a history to all knowledge and we should expand what we know wherever that history may be. *Photo by Amy Humphries * |
Want to share something?Leave a comment below! Archives
January 2023
CategoriesAll Book: Being A Model Book: Danger Series Book Her War Book: The Other Side Of The Mirror Camp Nanowrimo Life Advice Nanowrimo Random Travel Update Writing |
RSS Feed
Photo from @yakobusan Jakob Montrasio
