Greenville Technical College Student Lauren Cory Awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to Study Abroad
June 29, 2015
GREENVILLE, SC – Lauren Cory, a second-year student at Greenville Technical College (GTC), is one of 12 students from South Carolina colleges and universities to receive the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad this summer. She is the only student this year from a S.C. technical college to be awarded the scholarship, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Cory is currently in Germany participating in Freie Universität Berlin’s Intensive German Language program. The six week program is designed to expand students’ competences in listening, speaking, reading and writing, and deepen the knowledge of grammar while exposing students to German culture.
Cory hopes this immersive environment will not only improve her German language skills, but help her gain a broader perspective on the world. “I think that exposure to different cultures, even Western ones that aren’t that different from our own, is beneficial in creating a more rounded individual.”
At GTC, Cory is in the University Transfer program working toward an Associate in Arts degree. She plans to transfer to a four-year institution to major in psychology and complete her Bachelor of Arts before continuing on to earn a master’s degree.
“I am so honored and amazed that I won this scholarship,” said Cory. “I never thought study abroad was something within reach for me because of my limited financial means. I definitely feel blessed and I really want other students to know that this is possible for them, too.”
Across the U.S., more than 1,000 students from 332 colleges and universities were selected to receive a Gilman Scholarship. Gilman scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad or internship program costs. The program aims to diversify the students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where they go. Students receiving a Federal Pell Grant who will be studying abroad or participating in a career-oriented international internship for academic credit are eligible to apply.
