Five Hamilton juniors have been awarded Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships for study abroad in the spring 2017 semester.
Recipients are Natasha Espinosa, Daiyan Hossain, Kalvin Nash, Kureem Nugent and Chidera Onyeoziri.
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, offers grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students to pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad.
Such international exchange is intended to better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world. Gilman scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply toward their study abroad or internship program costs.
Espinosa, a Posse Foundation scholar from Miami, will study in Nicaragua through the School for International Training (SIT). A sociology major, she spent last summer as a NBC Universal – NBC Sports Olympic Digital Intern where she assisted in creating original content for three original digital programs on the NBC Olympics website. At Hamilton she served as president and secretary of Black Latino Student Union and event coordinator, for WHCL Student Radio.
Hossain, from Queens N.Y., will study in Sweden through the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS). At Hamilton she is a Burke Library circulation student assistant and a Days-Massolo Center student ambassador. She is also involved with Red Weather literary magazine and Rainbow Alliance.
Nash, a Posse Scholar from Boston, is a biochemistry and French double major. He’ll study in France through Hamilton’s program there. This year Nash received the Edward and Virginia Taylor Fund for Student Research in Chemistry. He is a research assistant in the Chemistry department and vice president of Hamilton’s French Club.
Nugent, a sociology major, will study in Madrid through Hamilton’s academic year in Spain. He just completed a term as president of Hamilton’s Student Assembly and is an Admissions’ Office tour guide. Nugent served as an Adirondack Adventure Orientation leader and staffs the Sadove Student Center. He is a member and secretary of Delta Chi fraternity, a member of the Brothers Organization and a WHCL radio host.
The Gilman program was established through the International Opportunity Act of 2000 and is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. It is administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE).
Onyeoziri, a Posse student from Brockton, Mass., will study at the University of Oxford, Worcester College, Oxford, England, through IFSA -Butler. A government and history major, she is a Nesbitt-Johnston Writing center writing tutor and served as intern to the City of Utica’s Corporation Counsel. Onyeoziri is a member of the Arthur Levitt Center Social Innovation Team and co-organizer of TEDx at Hamilton and a multicultural peer mentor.
