Jasmine Alford, a freshman accounting major at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
She is a resident of Memphis, Tennessee and earned a $3,000 scholarship to study abroad. American undergraduates from 363 colleges and universities across the U.S. were selected for the program that provides scholarships to students from diverse backgrounds to study or intern abroad.
Alford’s scholarship afforded her participation in UAPB’s inaugural study abroad program in South Africa, according to a news release.
“It’s a great achievement for Jasmine to receive a Gilman Scholarship,” Moore , associate dean for global engagement at the UAPB said. “It enabled her to extend her travel abroad by an additional week to incorporate an internship component. She worked with an organization that provides career services to at-risk youth.”
“The Gilman Scholarship helped pay for most of my expenses to study abroad in South Africa,” “While studying abroad, I will be able to make very important connections with the people there,”Alford said.
After returning from the study abroad program, Alford plans to promote the Gilman Scholarship and education abroad opportunities in general by hosting informational sessions with low-income students from UAPB and Southeast Arkansas College.
“The study abroad trip turned out to be the experience of a lifetime thanks to all the knowledge I gained,” she said. “I believe this experience is something that will impact my life and my career in a major way for decades to come.”
