A student from the University of Vermont has received a prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarships. The Gilman is a nationally competitive award given to accomplished students with financial need who wish to study abroad, and it seeks to support students as they prepare themselves to become active and engaged citizens in an increasingly globalized world.

Cassie Furlong ‘18, an early childhood education major and special education minor from the Saint Paul, Minnesota, received an award. Furlong will spend the spring of 2017 studying education at a university in New Zealand; as a part of her studies she’ll complete a student teaching internship.

The Gilman Scholarship Program aims to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go. The program provides awards that allow U.S. undergraduate students who receive federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study abroad programs worldwide. Award recipients are chosen through a very competitive application process.

More than 100 UVM students have won or been finalists in the country's most prestigious and competitive competitions, including the Fulbright, Rhodes, Goldwater, Marshall, Udall, Truman, Madison, Gilman and Boren Overseas scholarships.