Biology Major Receives College’s Second Gilman Scholarship
Krystle Bell pursuing coral reef, Aboriginal studies in Australia
A third-year student at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, has received a prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State to support her studies abroad.
Krystle Bell is a biology major with a microbiology option from Brooklyn, N.Y. She’s spending the spring semester at University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, taking courses in marine biology, coral reef research, anatomy, philosophy, and Aboriginal studies.
Gilman International Scholarships were created through the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000 to assist students who receive federal Pell Grants to enroll in education abroad programs that they otherwise could not afford. Bell is Penn State Behrend’s second Gilman Scholarship recipient; Michael Long of North East, a junior political science major, spent the 2006-07 academic year studying at Beijing Foreign Studies University in China.
Both Bell and Long also received assistance from Penn State Behrend’s John K. Henne Scholarship for International Study, an endowment created at the college nine years ago by Titusville philanthropist John Henne.
Gilman Scholarships award $5,000 per student, and give preference to study destinations off the beaten paths of Western Europe. “Another important part of the application is the Follow-On Project Proposal, which asks students what they will do to stimulate interest in foreign study after their return,” noted Ruth Pflueger, Penn State Behrend’s coordinator of education abroad programs. “Krystle’s project is especially noteworthy because she plans to return to her high school in Brooklyn, which has a 50 percent drop-out rate, to show students that there are opportunities available to them if they are willing to do the work and stay in school.”
Bell, who is African American, will be an enthusiastic ambassador for the Gilman. “I wish more minority students would take advantage of these types of programs,” she said. “It’s so rare for somebody from my neighborhood to say that they’ve been to another country. I can’t wait to go home and tell my entire high school, Do this.”
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, is a comprehensive residential college offering 32 baccalaureate, six associate, four pre-professional and two graduate degree programs with 22 minors to more than 4,400 students. Focused on providing a student-centered environment, Penn State Behrend is the link that connects its students to a major research and land-grant institution on a campus enriched by more than 110 clubs and organizations, 21 NCAA varsity teams, 19 intramural sports and modern facilities.