UAB students awarded prestigious Gilman International and Freeman-ASIA scholarships to study abroad

Six University of Alabama at Birmingham students have been awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship by the United States Department of State. Two additional students, Markia Hoyle-Brown and Grace Kim are recipients of the Institute of International Education’s Freeman Award for Study in Asia.

“The Gilman Scholarship and Freeman-ASIA are life-changing opportunities, and not just in that they provide funding for international study,” said Michelle Cook, Ph.D., director of UAB’s Office of National and International Fellowships and Scholarships. “Gaining national recognition in this way empowers these students toward even greater things in the future.”

This year’s recipients include students from the College of Arts and Sciences, Collat School of Business, and School of Health Professions.

• Tanner Caton, a neuroscience major and native of Wetumpka, Alabama, is a Gilman recipient and will travel to Costa Rica. She is an Honors College student on the Personalized Pathway.
• William Coleman, an industrial distribution major and native of Mobile, Alabama, is a Gilman recipient and will travel to Spain. He is an Honors College student on the Personalized Pathway.
• Markia Hoyle-Brown, an anthropology major and native of Birmingham, Alabama, is both a Gilman recipient and Freeman-Asia recipient and will travel to Thailand.
• Jacob Landon Frazier, an English major and native of Gadsden, Alabama, is a Gilman recipient and will travel to Spain. He is an Honors College student in the University Honors Program.
• Veda Joshi, a history major and native of Dothan, Alabama, is a Gilman recipient and will travel to Germany. He is an Honors College student in the University Honors Program.
• Grace Kim, a pre-nursing and world languages and literatures major, and native of Birmingham, Alabama, is a Freeman-Asia recipient and will travel to Japan.
• Nathalia Rosalina Quintero, a biomedical sciences major and native of Atlanta, Georgia, is a Gilman recipient and will travel to Spain.

The Gilman Scholarship is sponsored by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program aims to make study abroad experiences accessible to a more diverse population of students and gives students the opportunity to gain a better understanding of other cultures, countries, languages and economies — making them better prepared to assume leadership roles in government and the private sector.

The Freeman-ASIA program supports United States-based undergraduates with demonstrated financial need who are planning to study abroad in East or Southeast Asia. The program’s goal is to increase the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents with firsthand exposure to and understanding of Asia and its people and cultures. From its inception in 2001, Freeman-ASIA has made study abroad in East and Southeast Asia possible for more than 5,000 U.S. undergraduates from more than 600 institutions.

UAB’s Office of National and International Fellowships and Scholarships works closely with the UAB Education Abroad team to guide students through the scholarship process and help them manage the logistics of international travel. 

“It is exciting to see students capitalize on education abroad experiences with the support of the Gilman,” said Ashley Neyer, director of UAB Education Abroad. “The award success of our students shows the dedication and academic focus they bring to their international experiences and Gilman panelists’ recognizing that. The partnership between Education Abroad and Fellowships creates a synergy for our students to realize this nationally competitive award is attainable and we’re proud of our awardees’ accomplishments. It is imperative that UAB students have affordable cultural immersion experiences to become global citizens in a world that has proved to be more interconnected than ever before.”