Brittany Morales named Gilman Scholar for Spring 2012
Morales will travel to Ireland to study psychology.
By Sherrie Voss Matthews
International Media and Marketing Coordinator, Office of International Programs
Brittany Morales will be living her Irish dream this spring.
She is one of the 2012 spring scholarship awardees of the nationally competitive Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program.
Morales saw fliers around campus advertising study abroad, and she explored the programs available. Inspired by author Nora Roberts’ descriptions of Ireland, Morales decided to see if she could study in the Emerald Isle.
“I guess it's my romantic heart or me wanting to put a picture to what I read about, but I have always wanted to go. This was my chance and I took it. I never thought to go anywhere else,” Morales says.
She found the perfect psychology program at National University of Ireland, Galway. Morales, a junior, will receive $3,000 as a Gilman scholar.
“Some courses offered in Ireland are quite similar to the ones offered in America,” Morales says. “Psychology is a worldwide subject that everyone understands and tries to interpret, so the material is similar in most countries. Most psychology courses would be considered upper-division courses, which helps apply towards my degree plan.”
Morales plans to enroll in a class to help her explore the Irish/Gaelic culture. She’s looking forward to exploring the differences between her small-town life in the U.S. to living in a larger university town in Ireland.
“I'm from a small town -- Rosenberg, Texas -- and the majority of my family hasn’t traveled outside of the state,” she explains. “This opens me up for new experiences and to help guide me to new challenges. I feel this would also assist in my understanding of other cultures and declare differences and similarities between America. I feel as a future psychologist, it is better to be open-minded and to take in everything as a learning experience about people.”
Morales also hopes to explore the United Kingdom and possibly meet up with a friend who is studying abroad in Paris.
“We’re excited about the success that these students have had with the Gilman program,”says Kim Diehl, interim director of Education Abroad Services in the UTSA Office of International Programs.“These students appreciate the need to broaden their experience and study in a foreign country. They worked hard to make their dream of studying abroad a reality.”
The Gilman Scholarship Program is open to U.S. citizen undergraduate students who are receiving federal Pell grants and are planning to study abroad.
Students interested in applying for the Gilman Scholarship Program should visit iie.org/gilman and discuss possibilities with the staff at Education Abroad Services, MB 1.210.
International