Three FAMU students received Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to finance their studies overseas.
Bryana Pittman, Laila J. Spinner, and Haley Wilson will be studying internationally funded by the U.S. Department of State program that enables students to study or intern abroad, providing them with skills critical to the U.S. national security and economic prosperity. The program is named for former New York Congressman Benjamin Gilman.
Two students will use the scholarships to study in in Italy, and one will study in Japan.
Spinner, a junior biology/pre-med student, received the prestigious scholarship this spring. The graduate of Lincoln High School in Tallahassee will participate in the SIT Study Abroad Program in Montespertoli, Italy, taking courses in food security and nutrition.
“During my study abroad program, my main goal is to provide insight to students at FAMU about the opportunities and the possibilities to broaden our educational efforts,” Spinner said. “This opportunity means the world to me, and I am proud and excited to represent my college, and FAMU on a global level.”
Wilson was awarded a Gilman Scholarship in fall 2021 and will travel to Florence, Italy, this fall to take classes at the Lorenzo De Medici Italian International Institute.
The junior fine arts student from Augusta, Georgia, paints, draws, sculpts and works in ceramics and clay. She is delighted to be heading to “the birthplace of the Renaissance.”
“I want to grow as an artist and get those classical lessons and training, but most of all, I want to have experiences that most people wouldn’t get or even dream of having. I want to say I saw Michael Angelo’s David and the Piazza del Duomo and just didn’t see it in books,” said Wilson credits Associate Professor Harris Wiltsher, facilitator of the Visual Arts Program, for encouraging her to apply for the scholarship.
Pittman is no stranger to international travel, she was awarded Kirchner Food Fellowship in 2021, which took her to Leon, Mexico, for an agribusiness competition. She is presently in Rome, Italy, studying data science and artificial intelligence. She plans to use her Gilman Scholarship to travel to Japan in 2023.
“As a Pell Grant recipient, having this scholarship will push me out of my comfort zone because I have to do a service project,” Pittman said.
Her service project is to give a presentation to Sabal Palm Elementary School in Tallahassee, which she attended before completing high school in Atlanta.