Being a Gilman Scholar

By Soleil Griffin

Being in PTK has aided me in growing my abilities and making the most of myself. One of my accomplishments, with the aid of Dr. Doctor’s letter of recommendation letter, was receiving a scholarship to study abroad in Marseilles, France. This is a program in LaGuardia, directed by Candiece Goodall. The program allowed for me to take two elective classes, Creative Writing with Professor Lucy Mcnair and French literature in translation with Professor Habiba Boumlik.

Prior to getting in the program, I had to write a competitive essay and do a follow up interview. During that time, I was in Albany touring the capital building and had to schedule a phone conference. Although I had to deal with the poor connection in the building, I managed to do well in the interview and got an email of my acceptance a week later. In the process of getting accepted into the program, I also received a grant from the Benjamin Gilman Scholarship about a month after the two down payments of the program were due. I was excited when I heard of my acceptance since I knew how prestigious and competitive this scholarship was. Receiving this scholarship enabled me to make my stay in France stress free and enjoyable. Prior to receiving this grant, I was worried about how I was going to pay for my dinners, tours, and miscellaneous things while I was there; but getting the acceptance letter made all the difference.

When you apply for the Gilman Scholarship, you are required to write about how the scholarship will benefit you and to create a follow up projecting on informing others about the scholarship. Once I came back from studying abroad, I had to create a follow up service project that I committed to doing prior to receiving the award. My project consisted of a blog that informed people about the scholarship and the application process of both getting into the program and receiving the scholarship, and a vlog which is a video of my time in Marseilles. During my PTK Talk presentation, I displayed my vlog for the first time and talked about the benefits of being a Gilman Scholar. I alluded to how being a Gilman Scholar allowed for me to enjoy my trip without any financial burden, that I was able to go to France and interview refuges from Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and Algeria for my paper on “Living the French Dream vs. Living the American Dream,” and that the Black American culture is idolized in the Black community in France.

Overall my study abroad experience was the best thing that has ever happened to me. This was the first time I traveled internationally, and met incredible people along the way. If anyone has any doubts about traveling during their undergrad or afraid of how they would get funding for the program, I highly recommend the Benjamin Gilman Scholarship. As long as you are a US citizen, receive the Federal Pell Grant, are in good academic standing, and not planning on traveling to a country that is under a Travel Warning, everyone should definitely apply.