Four Penn Abroad Students Receive the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship
Pictured: University of Queensland
The University of Pennsylvania has been recognized by the U.S. Department of State for producing eight Gilman recipients this Spring 2025 cycle. Four recipients will study abroad in Fall 2025 on Penn Abroad programs:
- Rabiaa Ahmed (N’27), University of Queensland
- Aissatou Diallo (N’27), University of Queensland
- Khang Tran (C’27), Yonsei University
- Mia Williams (C’27), Petition Program to Georgetown University in Qatar
“Driven by our mission of bringing the world to Penn and Penn to the world, Penn Abroad is thrilled that we will have four students representing our university as Gilman recipients overseas in the upcoming year. We are excited for the meaningful global experience each of these students is about to embark upon, and look forward the myriad ways this will expand their global engagement as they look ahead personally, academically, and professionally,” said Kristyn Palmiotto, Executive Director of Penn Abroad.
The U.S. Department of State has awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to 3,500 American undergraduate students from all 50 states and the District of Columbia in spring 2025 to study abroad in over 170 countries. Over 70 percent of selected Gilman Scholars are from rural areas and small towns across the United States, and 55 percent are first-generation college students. Gilman Scholars are U.S. undergraduate students with high financial need as federal Pell Grant recipients. The Gilman Program received a record high of 17,000 applications across the 2024-2025 academic year.
This group of Gilman Scholars from University of Pennsylvania will represent the United States overseas and will return to communities across the United States with the global networks and foreign language skills needed to support U.S. economic and national security interests.
The governments of France, Germany, through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), New Zealand, and Wales, as well as the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) in Portugal and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), provided additional scholarships to Gilman scholars to study in these locations.
Established by the U.S. Congress, the Gilman Scholarship is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is aided in its implementation by the Institute of International Education. The next application cycle will be launched in August 2025. To learn more about the Gilman Scholarship, visit gilmanscholarship.org.
To learn more about how the Gilman Scholarship can fit in with an academic term or year abroad, take the first step by attending Study Abroad Group Advising.