A Cornell junior in the College of Human Ecology has won Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarships for study abroad this coming spring semester.

Jennifer Silverstein, a human biology, health and society major, received an award of $4,000 to support her study at the SIT Study Abroad Program on Community Health and Social Policy in Durban, South Africa. 

The scholarships, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the Institute of International Education, are awarded competitively to students with financial need who study abroad. After returning from overseas, each student is required to complete a project to promote study abroad in general and the Gilman Scholarship program in particular.

The Gilman Scholarship program is the largest U.S. government financial support of undergraduate study abroad and is open to study abroad students who are U.S. citizens receiving Pell Grants as part of their on-campus financial aid package. Every semester several Cornell students are successful in the competition.

The scholarships aim to support students who have been traditionally underrepresented in study abroad, including but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students in such underrepresented fields as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities.

Silverstein applied with the support of Cornell Abroad and the Office of Financial Aid.