BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University junior Lukasz Sewera was recently named the recipient of a competitive Benjamin A. Gilman international scholarship. He is one of approximately 1,000 United States students selected annually to receive the prestigious scholarship, which is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
A biology major from Norridge, Ill., Sewera will study medical practice and policy with the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was also the recipient of an approximately $4,000 scholarship from DIS, one of many scholarships awarded to Illinois Wesleyan students for international study in the coming year.
Sewera is the fourth IWU student to receive the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship in the last two years. Others who have received the scholarship are Brad Tieche, Celeste Nunez, and Angela Rumsey, all Class of 2009. The Gilman scholarship, which awards an average of $4,000 per student, aims to diversify students who study abroad by offering financial support and to promote non-traditional study abroad destinations.
As part of the Gilman scholarship application, Sewera designed a follow-up project to his experience overseas. On the encouragement of International Office Director Stacey Shimizu, he will deliver a presentation in the spring that encourages science and pre-med students to study abroad, despite the perceived restrictions of their majors.