Student Spotlight: Haley Belcher and the Gilman Scholarship Program
The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, colloquially known as the Gilman Program, provides undergraduate students with limited financial means to study or intern abroad in another country. These students must be undergraduates who are Pell Grant recipients.
Haley Belcher, a first-generation student and 2025 grad strives to bring light to the resourcefulness of the program for undergraduate students. As a recipient of the Gilman scholarship, Haley studied abroad at Kansai University in Osaka, Japan, partaking in Kansai University’s Intensive Japanese Language and Culture Course (IJLC)
Haley reflects on her summer study abroad trip with passion: “Outside of the classroom, I explored other cities with my new friends and our Japanese peers and interacted with locals using Japanese, which made me foster deeper, more valuable connections.”
For Haley, the experience offered more than just a trip to another country—it offered lasting connections: “Throughout this program, I fostered connections with other students from Japan, America, China, Taiwan, Korea, and the UAE, all of which strengthened my ability to form diverse relationships, advance my Japanese language skills, and improve my communication skills while ensuring I remained open-minded and empathetic to different viewpoints.”
Bridgewater State University’s study abroad department has its own criteria for the application process of studying abroad and applying for the Gilman Scholarship, which include attending a Study Abroad 101 meeting to discuss specifics, starting the application on the university’s website, attending the Gilman Scholarship informational meeting to talk about the application process, writing the Gilman scholarship application essays, having each essay reviewed at one of the writing workshops, and finally, attending the Study Abroad Pre-Depature Orientation.
The BSU study abroad department and the financial aid department have been further promoting the Gilman Scholarship by sending out automated emails to qualifying students who receive a Pell Grant, letting them know of this extremely beneficial opportunity.
Overall, the Gilman Program strives to support underrepresented undergraduate students in their endeavors to study or intern abroad while also enhancing skills like global awareness, cross-cultural communication, and career readiness by not only progressing skills but also students’ capability to connect with other Gilman Scholars nationwide.
If you are considering studying abroad but are worried about the cost, visit the study abroad office in the Minnock Institute for Global Engagement to assess your eligibility for the Gilman Scholarship. You never know where the wind will take you—explore your study abroad options today!
