Four of the seven UNH students who received the prestigious Gilman international scholarship to support their spring semester study abroad: Emily Haley (bottom left), Jacqueline Vaquero (top left), Zachary Magee (bottom right) and Hannah Bailey (center). (Photo: Jeremy Gasowski, Communications and Public Affairs)
UNH students are studying in Japan, Russia, New Zealand, Italy, Denmark and the U.K. this semester thanks to the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship program.
Seven students received $27,000 in Gilman scholarships to support their study abroad experiences. Six of the students accepted the awards: Hannah Bailey '18, Danielle Bourgeois '18, Leo Durocher '17, Emily Haley '17, Zachary Magee '17 and Jacqueline Vaquerano '17.
This is a record number of Gilman recipients for one scholarship cycle, says Jeanne Sokolowski, director of the UNH Office of National Fellowships, which helps students identify and apply for financial support for a number of scholarly opportunities. In previous cycles, UNH has had up to five Gilman recipients.
The Gilman program aims to increase the number and diversity of students who study abroad.
Jacqueline Vaquerano '17, a psychology and criminology major from Swampscott, Massachusetts, is in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she’s taking European Clinical Psychology and Human Trafficking in a Global Context.
“All of the scholarships made it so much more possible to do this without a lot of stress. Now, I can travel without having to think about every dollar I spend. That’s the ideal,” Vaquerano says. In addition to the Gilman, Vaquerano received two scholarships from the Danish Institute for Study Abroad to support her experience.
Emily Haley '17, an international affairs and sociology major from Stoddard, New Hampshire, will study at Waseda University in Japan starting in April. While international affairs majors are required to study abroad, Haley’s sights have been set on Japan since high school. She’s a member of UNH’s United Asian Coalition and the Native American Cultural Association.
Haley also received the Freeman Asia Award and a UNH Center for International Education scholarship to support her trip.
Both Vaquerano and Haley say the support they received from Sokolowski during the application process had a great impact.
Civil engineering majors Zachary Magee of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and Hannah Bailey of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, are using their Gilmans to study at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland through a Center for International Education and Global Engagement exchange program.
Leo Durocher, a Russian major from Rochester, New Hampshire, is in Russia, and nutrition major Danielle Bourgeois of Bedford, New Hampshire, is in Italy.
For information on the Gilman Study Abroad Scholarships and other awards, visit the UNH Office of National Fellowships.