16 Students Earn Gilman Scholarships

“This scholarship will greatly assist me in leaving behind my job for a few months as I continue my education.”

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, father and now full-time student, international business major Aaron Miller wasn’t sure he would ever be able to afford to study abroad.
 
“While the GI Bill pays a large part in providing for my education, it does not cover the full costs of rent, bills, food and other costs associated with home and abroad,” said Miller.
 
With the help and encouragement of his professors and campus advisors, however, Miller was selected as a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship recipient and will travel to Germany for the fall 2021 semester to further his international business studies.
 
“This scholarship will greatly assist me in leaving behind my job for a few months as I continue my education,” Miller said.

“I appreciate that Gilman also offers students other resources abroad such as networking, a great option to have while seeking future employment or internship opportunities.”

Miller has attended San Diego State University virtually throughout his entire academic career and despite not stepping foot on the campus he feels supported by both the Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center and the university as a whole.
 
“The most influential aspect of SDSU on my success has been the university’s ability to maintain a nurturing, understanding, and academically sound educational environment during the online-era of COVID-19,” said Miller.

“The Joan and Art Barron Veterans Center has also been extremely helpful and has assisted me in a multitude of ways in ensuring that I receive the benefits I earned during my five years in the Marine Corps. The center at SDSU has been a very effective liaison between me and the United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs and has absolved me of that challenging burden.”
 
Miller is among 16 SDSU students who earned a Gilman Scholarship. The U.S. Department of State program has been supporting students with limited financial means to participate in credit-bearing international programs since 2001.
 
This year’s SDSU recipients plan to study or volunteer abroad in eight different countries including Germany, China, Japan, Italy, Spain, Ecuador, India and the United Arab Emirates. They join more than 33,000 scholars from 1,335 U.S. institutions who have traveled to more than 150 countries under the Gilman program. In addition to Miller, the following students will study or volunteer abroad:

• Beethar Truong, an interdisciplinary studies major, will study in China during spring 2022.
• Chelsea Contreras, an international business major, was offered an award to study in Ecuador but switched to a virtual program in Mexico for fall 2021.
• Dayanara Lara Benitez, an international business major, will study in Spain during spring 2022.
• Eric Weiss, an international business major, will study in Germany during spring 2022.
• Grace Chou, an international business major, will study in Germany during fall 2021.
• Isisroxan Exum, a studio arts major, will study in Italy during the 2021 academic year.
• Kana Okura, a liberal studies major, will study in Japan during the 2021 academic year.
• Kelly Valencia, an international business major, will study in Ecuador during fall 2021.
• Leza Nissan, a public health major, will volunteer in India during winter break 2021-22.
• Lojeen Ragab, an international business major, will study in the United Arab Emirates during spring 2022.
• Lucia Victoria, an international business major, will study in Spain during fall 2021.
• Madison Barnes, an international security and Conflict Resolution major, studied in Spain during summer 2021.
• Savannah Simpson, a business marketing major, will study in the United Kingdom during fall 2021.
• Solana Micheal, a speech, language and hearing sciences major, will study in the United Kingdom during fall 2021.
• Tran Tran, a sociology major, volunteered virtually with an organization in Vietnam during summer 2021.