Tolland Resident Among 8 From UConn Awarded Gilman Scholarship

STORRS, CT — A Tolland resident is among eight University Connecticut students awarded the prestigious Gilman Scholarship.

The award is funded through the federal Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the State Department and the funding supports expanding student participation in study abroad programs and encourages travel to diverse locations around the globe, along with intensive language study and internship experiences.

Students applying for Gilman Scholarships work with advisers in UConn's Office of National Scholarships & Fellowships and Experiential Global Learning. Laura Hills, associate director of EGL, and Michael Cunningham, assistant director of ONSF and UConn’s Fulbright program advisor, are UConn’s two Gilman certifying advisers.

Upon their return from studying abroad, each Gilman Scholar is required to complete a service project in their campus or home community with the goal of sharing the value of participation in study abroad and promoting the scholarship to prospective students. Applications are reviewed with consideration for the proposed follow-up service project.

The following UConn students were selected as Gilman Scholars in this cycle, and they are listed with the location of where they will study as part of the program:

• Nicholas Benda (2025 ), a maritime studies major from Preston, who will study the ecosystems and biodiversity in the Galapagos at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in the spring semester.
• Alexandra Bradley (2025 ), an English major from Tolland, who will study at L’Institut Catholique de Paris in the spring semester.
• Hanna Gjetaj (2026), a marketing major from Stamford, who will study business and economics in London in the spring semester.
• Hannah Hidalgo (2026), a nursing major with a minor in human development and family sciences, who will study nursing at various locations in Rwanda this summer.
• Angelina Larracuente (2026), a psychological sciences and communications major from Fairfield, who will study in the multicultural psychology program at The Umbra Institute, in Perugia, Italy, this summer.
• Ama Kissi (2025 ), an allied health sciences major from East Hartford, who will study the Mediterranean diet and Tuscan cuisine in Florence, Italy, this summer.
• Sidratul Muntaha (2026), a political science major with a human rights minor from Bristol, who will study at the Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, this summer.
• Deon Portes (2025, an individualized crime, law and inequality major from Bristol, who will study in Heredia, Costa Rica, in the spring semester.