Storrs: 15 UConn Students Win Gilman Scholarships For Study Abroad

STORRS, CT — A total of 15 UConn students have been awarded a Gilman Scholarship in the latest cohort, earning a congressionally funded academic award that supports study abroad. The award is funded through the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the State Department, according to the university announcement.

UConn said the funding is meant to expand student participation in study abroad programs and encourage travel to diverse locations around the world, along with intensive language study and internship experiences. The 15 students in the latest cohort will study in 10 different countries and will receive a total of nearly $47,500 in scholarship funds through the Gilman program.

The university also reported that 22 UConn students have earned Gilman awards across the last two cohorts, the current cohort and October 2025, for a total of more than $75,000 in scholarship funding. In the latest group, students are headed to countries including Japan, Portugal, Italy, Belize, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, Peru, Germany, Spain and Ireland.

Among the recipients are Aaliyah Persad ’27, a psychology major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who was selected to study at Korea University in Seoul this past spring, and Rumaysa Ahmed ’29, a business major at UConn Hartford from Farmington who will study at Waseda University in Tokyo this summer. Kevin Barrio Espana ’29, an economics major at UConn Stamford, will study at the Institute of Lisbon in Portugal in spring 2027.

Other students in the cohort include Sarah Cartagena ’28, a digital media and design major from Newington, who will study in Florence, Italy, this summer, and Francis Chamere ’27, a sociology and psychology double major, who will study in Belize next winter. Lilliana Gluzak ’28, a chemical engineering major, was named a STEM Supplemental Award recipient and will study at the University of Queensland in Australia this fall.

Additional recipients include Ian Frank Ondobo ’28, a chemistry major, who will study at the University of Singapore this fall, and Kecelia Hill ’28, a fisheries and wildlife conservation major, who will study field ecology in South Africa this summer. UConn also listed Shaniqua Jones ’27, who will take part in the Applied Research for Nursing Practice Program in Peru, and Kathlyn Siriano ’28 of Greenwich, who will study business in London this summer.

The university announcement did not include a ceremony or presentation date. It identified the scholarships as part of UConn’s ongoing participation in the Gilman program.