[018] State Department Scholarships Send MTSU Students Abroad

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 26, 2011
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

STATE DEPARTMENT SCHOLARSHIPS SEND MTSU STUDENTS ABROAD
Thailand, India, Japan, Jordan Destinations for Stellar Scholars

MURFREESBORO—Four MTSU students are recipients of the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships for fall 2011. With these stipends, the students will study in Jordan, Japan, India and Thailand.
Kristofer Hallfrisch of Westmoreland, Tenn., got a head start on his studies by moving to Irbid, Jordan, in May. He will continue studying Arabic there at Yarmouk University with his $4,500 scholarship until December 2011, when he will return to MTSU to graduate.
A Global Studies major with double minors in English and Middle Eastern Studies, Hallfrisch taught English at an orphanage in New Delhi, India, in the summer of 2009.
Kimberly Puckett, an advertising major from Nashville, will delve into Japanese culture with a $2,500 stipend while enhancing her expertise in her minor, Japanese Language.
“I am hoping since Japan is known for its technology, media and its crazy commercials that maybe I could do something that is related to both my major and minor,” writes Puckett.
Karissa Senn departed for India earlier this month with a $5,000 scholarship for studies at the University of Hyderabad and volunteer work with Asha for Education, a nongovernmental organization that helps residents of India’s urban slums.
Senn, who hails from Kingston Springs, Tenn., will work to finish her International Relations degree, then pursue a joint graduate program for a master’s degree in International Public Affairs and a law degree.
Yosaton Tungmanelatkul, a Global Studies major from Nashville, will study in Thailand equipped with a $4,000 stipend.
Funded by Congress and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Gilman Scholarship program provides “grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies abroad,” states the program’s Web site.
Recipients are selected competitively for these grants, which are used for such expenses as “program tuition, room and board, books, local transportation, insurance and international airfare.”
To find out more about MTSU’s study abroad opportunities, contact the MTSU Office of Education Abroad and Student Exchange at 615-898-5179 or mtabroad@mtsu.edu. To learn more about the Gilman Scholarships, go to www.iie.org/gilman.

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Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. In September 2011, MTSU will celebrate its 100th year anniversary with special events and activities throughout the year—kicked off by a Blue-Tie Centennial Gala on Friday, Sept. 9.