Two students from Indiana University of Pennsylvania have been selected for Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships.
Adama Kouyate
The IUP scholarship recipients are Adama Kouyate, an IUP fashion merchandising major from Reading; and Kailyn Provitt, an IUP Asian Studies major from Pittsburgh. With these most recent winners, IUP has 19 Gilman Scholarship recipients.
The scholarships will enable Kouyate to study at the Paris College of Art for the fall semester and Provitt to spend the 2019–20 academic year studying at Korea University, Sejong campus, in South Korea.
Daughter of Kany Dioum, Kouyate is a 2016 graduate of Wilson High School. While at IUP, she has been active in the Pan-African Student Association, the Fashion Association, Visual Merchandising group, and Management Association.
Provitt, daughter of Markila Sherman and Benjamin Sherman, Pittsburgh, and Dean Provitt, of Pheonix, is a 2016 graduate of Gateway Senior High School. She is a dean's list student at IUP and is a member of the IUP Conversation Partners program, which matches international students with domestic students to help international students transition to the United States and study at IUP.
“At IUP, I've been able to foster my childhood curiosity of Asia,” Provitt said. “I fall in love with Korean language and culture more and more with each day of study. Now I have the opportunity to be immersed and live surrounded by this beautiful culture, while supplementing my proficiency in the language.
Kailyn Provitt
“One of the reasons I chose IUP was because they gave me the flexibility and support to navigate my focus within my major, such as studying multiple languages at the same time and study in IUP's strong Asian Studies curriculum. I am so grateful for the support from my faculty, department, and the Education Abroad office for supporting my endeavor.”
The Gilman Scholarship is awarded by the US Department of State and instituted by the Institute of International Education. It enables undergraduate students who receive Federal Pell Grant funding at two- or four-year colleges to study or intern abroad in a variety of disciplines at a university of their choosing.
The IUP student winners were selected from a pool of candidates from colleges and universities across the country based on their academic performance and a competitive application. More than 3,400 applications were received for the scholarship. The Gilman Program is designed to allow more American undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds to study and intern abroad in more diverse locations, increasing their global career readiness and contributing to national security and economic prosperity.