4 at YSU get scholarships

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Four Youngstown State University students have been awarded the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship to help offset the cost of their study-abroad programs this spring.

Among Ohio public universities, only Ohio University has more Gilman recipients this year, with six students. The University of Cincinnati and Miami University of Ohio have three recipients each, while Akron, Kent State, Shawnee State and Ohio State each has one recipient.

The Gilman International Scholarship Program offers grants for undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies abroad. Award recipients are chosen by a competitive selection process. The program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State and is administered by the Institute of International Education.

“The Gilman Scholarship is highly selective,” said Annette El-Hayek, assistant director of YSU’s Center for International Studies and Programs. “We’ve had people before but this is the first time we’ve had this many get it.”

YSU students receiving the scholarship are:

Haileh Ahmed will be traveling to Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Turkey, for four months. An accounting major from Austintown, Ahmed hopes to broaden her cultural horizons during her second year of college. She was awarded $4,000.

Ryan Meditz, a senior studying Spanish and international marketing, will be spending six months abroad – five in Granada, Spain, followed by a month of travel around Europe. Meditz, a Canfield resident, hopes to complement his majors during his time in Granada, a city in southern Spain. He was awarded $3,000.

Solita Wilson will return from her spring semester in Winchester, England, in time to graduate in May. Wilson received $4,000 for her trip. The trip will be the chemistry major’s first time living away from Youngstown.

Meysha Harville, an Austintown resident, will be travelling to Winchester, England, also. She was awarded $4,000. Harville is a senior majoring in integrated language arts education.