Knox College students Michael Cooke and Ritu Gyawali recently were chosen to receive the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for students planning to study abroad. (Above: Ritu Gyawali in her office during an internship, Michael Cooke in São Paolo, Brazil.)

Cooke, a junior from Chicago, Illinois, is majoring in integrated international studies. He is studying abroad in Brazil this academic year.

Gyawali, a junior from Houston, Texas, is majoring in biochemistry. She will study abroad in Costa Rica in the spring through the Associated Colleges of the Midwest's "Costa Rica: Field Research in Environment, Social Sciences, & Humanities" program.

Cooke and Gyawali are among more than 700 undergraduate students in the United States who were selected in November to receive the scholarships. Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply toward their study abroad program costs.

Award recipients are chosen by a competitive selection process.

The program aims to diversify the students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go. Scholarship recipients have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of other cultures, countries, languages, and economies -- making them better prepared to assume leadership roles within government and the private sector.

According to the Gilman Scholarship website, the program "aims to support students who have been traditionally underrepresented in study abroad, including but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students in underrepresented fields such as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds, and students with disabilities."

The Gilman Scholarship program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and it is administered by the Institute of International Education.