by Niki Acton '16

Dy'Anna Augustus became the sixth Knox student this year to be selected for the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for students studying abroad.

A junior from Chicago, Illinois, Augustus is a music major with a minor in Chinese. This summer, she will study Chinese through Peking University's China Studies Institute. Students in the two-month program pledge to speak only Chinese over the course of the program.

Augustus's travel to Beijing, China, will be supported by a grant from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship fund. The scholarship program's goal is to increase the diversity of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they travel.

While in Beijing, Augustus will study Chinese both inside and outside the classroom. Her classroom experience will be focused on learning about Chinese characters, grammar structures, oral practice, and Chinese traditions. On the weekends, her group will visit the places that they discussed in class.

"I plan on getting my masters in music technology so I can become a sound engineer," says Augustus. "In that industry you never know where the next big opportunity might come from. Maybe I'll find myself back in China engineering a live concert."

Though Augustus is apprehensive about this immersive language experience, she feels that the Asian Studies Department at Knox has prepared her to study abroad. Through her one-on-one language practice sessions and group discussions in Chinese, she feels prepared to communicate her wants and needs while in China.

"The study abroad office has also done an amazing job preparing me for China," says Augustus. "The sessions about living in a foreign country have helped ease some of my worries about being an American living abroad."

Six Knox students received Gilman scholarships to fund their study abroad over the 2014-2015 academic year. Only three students received the grant during the 2013-2014 academic year, and only one the year before.

Robin Ragan, director of the Eleanor Stellyes Center for Global Studies, credits this growth with the effort center has put into promoting the scholarship.

"We have really learned to streamline our processes of reaching out to Pell grant students from very early on and let them know about this opportunity," says Ragan. "We make a joint effort between our office, Financial Aid, TRIO, peers, and academic advisors."