May 25, 2021

We are pleased to announce that sixteen Drexel students have received Gilman Scholarships to support study or co-op abroad in 2021, a new recipient record for Drexel. The prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, supports American undergraduate students pursuing study abroad and international internships. Congratulations to all of Drexel's honorees!

Alexander Brombauer (BSBA Finance and International Business '23)
Gilman Scholar to the UK
Alex is pursing a bachelor's degree in business administration with a double-major in both finance and international business. He received the honor of being selected as one of this year's Gilman Scholarship recipients. The scholarship will be used to support his study abroad this fall at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

Andrea Eleazar (BS Public Health '23, Honors)
Gilman Scholar to Singapore
Andrea is a second year honors student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public health, a bioinformatics minor, and a technical writing certificate. With interests in biomedical science, social science, humanities, and technology, she wishes to build an interdisciplinary understanding of health. Andrea is eager to experience Singapore’s vast innovation ecosystem and multiculturalism; she is interested in learning how the country handles such a diverse population from a public health standpoint. At Nanyang Technological University, she hopes to both strengthen her STEM foundation and explore her Southeast Asian roots. On campus, Andrea is the concertmaster of Drexel’s Symphony Orchestra, a Drexel Community Scholar, and serves on e-board for DrExcel Health Undergraduate Association. As a 2020 STAR Scholar and researcher at the Drexel Urban Health Collaborative, she conducted epidemiological research about the U.S. immigrant population; she is also a 2020-21 Aspire Scholar and Global Engagement Scholar. Eventually, Andrea would like to work at the intersection of public health and medical technology to address disparate population health outcomes, particularly among marginalized groups.

Giselle Garcia (BS Hospitality Management '22)
Gilman Scholar to Italy
Giselle is a hospitality and hotel management student with minors in marketing and business administration. While at Drexel, Giselle discovered her passion for marketing and communications after pursuing professional co-ops with Cozen O’Connor, Bimbo Bakeries USA, and American Express. Ultimately, her career goal is to mentor and fund academic opportunities for driven first-generation students from low-income households like herself. She has remained an active student on campus as treasurer of the Drexel French Club, current treasurer of the Drexel Hospitality Society, and member of ALPFA Philadelphia and Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity. After graduation, Giselle would like to attend graduate school and continue exploring marketing opportunities with companies that emphasize giving back to their communities.

Manmeen Kaur (BS Criminology and Justice Studies '22)
Gilman Scholar to France
Manmeen is a criminology major with a double minor in French and psychology. Currently, she is completing a co-op with the Immigration Law Office. After graduation, she plans to attend law school and complete her master's in business administration. Ultimately she wants to create an organization that can help women and children in the future. She believes that women and children are the most vulnerable and most important population.

Angela Myronovych (BSBA Finance '22, Honors)
Gilman Scholar to the UK
Angela wants to address unmet medical needs in neuroscience such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. She aspires to work in the healthcare industry to encourage breakthroughs in neuroscience research. She is looking to pursue a career involved in the business development of healthcare innovations through working at a venture capital firm, a pharmaceutical company, or a biotech startup. Angela believes that London is a hub in pharmaceutical development, growing biotech startups, biotech venture capital, and top academic research college programs. As a global center of finance and travel, London is the perfect location to develop medical innovations for its access to financial investment, high quality research centers, universities, health care systems, and highly trained professionals.

Elana Sargent (BS Biological Sciences '22, Honors)
Gilman Scholar to the UK
Elana Sargent is a third-year biology student on the pre-med track, minoring in business administration. She is originally from Massachusetts and wanted to come to school in Philadelphia to experience living in the city. With the aid of the Gilman Scholarship, she will now get the opportunity to explore the vast city of London and the surrounding United Kingdom, with its rich culture and history. There she will be able to grow and expand her knowledge by studying subjects outside of her major. With a background in carpentry and construction design, Elana is looking forward to seeing European architecture up close, while also developing cultural empathy and global communication skills that will be useful in her future in medicine.

Aysha Siddiquee (BS Health Science '23)
Gilman Scholar to the UK
Aysha Siddiquee is a second-year student majoring in health sciences and minoring in global public health. She chose to academically study health sciences on a pre-med track with a minor in global public health with the hopes of pursuing a career in medicine. Studying abroad in London will expose her to many opportunities not only academically but career-wise. She chose the FIE in London program not only for location purposes but because of its world-renowned health care system for academic and professional growth. As one of her professional goals is to create an outreach program for accessible health care in developing countries targeting women and children in countries such as Bangladesh. To better understand how to create and implement a globalized and specified plan for healthcare access in developing countries, she wants to better understand the foundational aspects of the most successful health care systems in the world. In the future she hopes to combine her passion for medicine and healthcare reform by working towards an accessible globalized healthcare plan.

Rafaelo Skendaj (BSBA Finance '24)
Gilman Scholar to the Czech Republic
Rafaelo is currently a sophomore pursuing a BSBA in finance, as well as a double minor in accounting an military science in the LeBow School of Business. He is also a Cadet in U.S. Army ROTC, as well as serving part-time in the U.S. Army Reserves. He is part of the executive board of the Society of Security Analysts (SSA), a finance club that educates the student body about investments and the financial markets, offers opportunities to gain professional experience, and provides information about careers in investment banking, private equity, finance, and business. He will be studying abroad at The Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE) in Prague in the 2021 fall term, taking courses in finance and Russian.

Jade Umstead (BS Criminology and Justice Studies '22)
Gilman Scholar to South Korea
Jade Umstead is a second-year student pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminology and justice studies with a focus in justice informatics, a minor in film and television, and is working towards achieving a language certificate in Korean. Upon graduating, Jade hopes to become a documentary filmmaker exploring issues of social injustice. In the fall of 2021, she will be studying abroad in South Korea at Seoul National University. While in Korea, Jade is looking forward to participating in the Korean Language Program, making connections with Korean filmmakers, and exploring the fashion districts.

Lydia Victor (BS Entrepreneurship and Innovation '23)
Gilman Scholar to Italy
Lydia is a student in the Close School’s 3-year entrepreneurship and innovation program. She is pursuing minors in sport regulation and compliance as well as art history. She is interested in sports governance and the global nature of sports fandoms. While abroad, she will continue her explorations of art and history through film and photography. She is looking forward to the new perspective living internationally will provide her education. Thanks to the Gilman Scholarship, Lydia will be studying at The American University of Rome during the fall term of 2021.

Brenda Vong (BS Environmental Studies and Sustainability '23)
Gilman Scholar to Germany
Brenda Vong is a junior majoring in environmental studies and sustainability with a minor in German. Her teachers from middle and high school, professors at Drexel University, and those in her co-ops all helped her figure out what she wanted to do in the future. Her passion is for helping communities learn, protect, and connect with their environment. Environmental studies and sustainability was actually not a major topic of interest to her as a kid, almost non-existent, and so she originally majored in biology. Her family came from Cambodia and are happy to see her take this opportunity that she otherwise would not have if still living in Cambodia. As she sees herself improving and discovering new ideas, she learned more about study abroad.She is grateful to have this opportunity through the Gilman Scholarship and is excited to study at the School of Social Sciences at Mannheim to gain an deeper understanding in sociology and to continue to improve on her German speaking skills.

Emma Weil (BS Hospitality Management '23)
Gilman Scholar to Japan
Emma is a junior currently pursuing a hospitality management major with a minor in Japanese language. Having grown up in the suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee, she came to Philadelphia to expand her horizons. Having studied Japanese since she was thirteen years old, having the opportunity to study in Tokyo is something she is very excited for. Emma is highly interested in travel, tourism, and culture, which is why she chose to major in hospitality. She will be attending Sophia University in Tokyo to focus on her Japanese minor and language skills. She will also be taking an intensive language course, along with a couple of business courses for her business minor.

Leah Winkler (BA Fashion Design '23, Honors)
Gilman Scholar to Italy
Leah Winkler is a sophomore fashion design major and retail minor, as well as part of the Honors Program. She was a 2020 Drexel STAR Scholar and researched plus size fashion, surveyed plus size women about their views of the clothing they can buy and the way they are portrayed in media, and took what she learned to create an outfit for a plus size model. As a Gilman Scholar, she is excited to be studying fashion so close to Milan, one of the fashion capitals of the world, and to make friends and connections with other future designers from around the world. Her career goal is to start her own fashion line and open a store specializing in plus size fashion.

This list does not include the students who declined to have their information shared online.

Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000,or up to $8,000 if also a recipient of the Gilman Critical Need Language Award, to apply toward their study abroad or internship program costs. Since the program’s establishment in 2001, over 1,300 U.S. institutions have sent over 33,000 Gilman Scholars of diverse backgrounds to 151 countries around the globe. The program has successfully broadened U.S. participation in study abroad, while emphasizing countries and regions where fewer Americans traditionally study. The complete list of students who have been selected to receive Gilman Scholarships this cycle, including students’ home state, university and host country, is available on the website: gilmanscholarship.org.

The Gilman Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and is supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

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The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ (ECA) mission is to build relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through academic, cultural, sports, professional and private exchanges, as well as public-private partnerships and mentoring programs. These exchange programs improve foreign relations and strengthen the national security of the United States. ECA programs, funding, and other activities encourage the involvement of American and international participants from traditionally underrepresented groups, including women, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities.  Artists, educators, athletes, students, youth and rising leaders in the United States and more than 160 countries around the globe participate in academic, cultural, sports, and professional exchanges.  For more information about ECA programs, initiatives, and achievements, visit eca.state.gov.

The Institute of International Education works with policymakers, educators and employers across the globe to prepare students and professionals for the global workforce and equip them to solve the increasingly complex challenges facing our interconnected world. An independent, not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of 18 offices and affiliates worldwide, and over 1,300 member institutions.