Elizabeth Cochran Receives U.S. Department of State’s Gilman Scholarship

McKendree University Senior Will Study in Morocco

(LEBANON, Ill., December 17, 2018) — McKendree University announces that Elizabeth Cochran, a senior from Warsaw, Ill., has received the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad during the spring of 2019. The complete list of 395 undergraduate Gilman Scholars from 152 colleges and universities across the U.S. is available at gilmanscholarship.org.

Cochran will study in Meknes, Morocco, during the spring semester. The Gilman Scholarship will support her three-month experience in the historic imperial city, a UNESCO World Heritage site on the country’s north-central coast.

“My goal is to integrate cross-cultural learning about the Muslim culture, learn applicable sociological perspectives and give back to the community. Going to Morocco is an opportunity that will help prepare me for my future,” said the psychology major, who seeks cross-cultural experience for a career as a child psychologist.

In additional to taking courses at the Arabic Study Center in Meknes, she will volunteer at A Smile Center, an organization that provides services and education for single mothers. “I will provide a range of services, teaching skills of independence, budgeting and counseling, and developing a safe environment for the women and their children. While I volunteer my time there will be a language barrier, however I envision that I will enhance my language skills.”

At McKendree, Cochran is the secretary and treasurer of Pi Gamma Mu social science honor society, a member of the Psychology Club, and a volunteer at Cedar Ridge nursing home in Lebanon, Fairmont City Library after-school tutoring, Trinity Services in Mascoutah, and the Family Living Center in East St. Louis. She plans to blog about her semester abroad experiences at mckendree.edu.

The Congressionally funded Gilman Program broadens the U.S. student population studying and interning abroad by providing scholarships to outstanding undergraduate Pell Grant recipients. Since the program’s establishment in 2001, over 1,300 U.S. institutions have sent more than 28,000 Gilman scholars to 145 countries around the globe.

“Getting the Gilman means the world to me,” said Cochran, who is McKendree University’s fifth recipient. “I am able to not worry about my expenses and I get a chance to make this work financially. This helps to keep me out of debt.”

The Gilman Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education.

 

Elizabeth Cochran

 

-McK-