{"id":15443,"date":"2019-07-11T14:54:54","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T14:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=15443"},"modified":"2023-06-08T19:06:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T19:06:42","slug":"gilman-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2019\/07\/11\/gilman-scholarship","title":{"rendered":"Gilman scholarship recipient will study in Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Sean Park
\nIn her sophomore year at the University of Washington Bothell, Rukeya Yassen decided she wanted to broaden her college experience by studying abroad. Out of all the locations that are offered through UW, her dream destination was Italy. The cost, however, was prohibitive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Yassen<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For guidance, Yassen turned to her academic adviser, Amy Couto, who suggested she apply for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship<\/a>, a prestigious national fellowship funded by the U.S. Department of State. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHer eagerness to experience other cultures and her deep passion for education and human rights made her a strong applicant for the award,\u201d said Couto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A deserving scholar <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Named after the late New York Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman, the scholarship aims to expand access to international study and internship opportunities to students of limited means. Since it began in 2001, the scholarship has received more than 100,000 applications and approximately only one in four receive the honor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A senior majoring in education<\/a>, Yassen was one of those selected to receive a $2,000 scholarship. Starting in mid-August, she will study in Italy as part of a UW exploration seminar, Education Rome: Gender and Multiculturalism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving the courage and follow through to apply for a nationally competitive scholarship like the Gilman is a huge success, and I am proud of Rukeya for taking the chance on herself to pursue this,\u201d said Couto. \u201cI am thrilled that she will have the opportunity to study in Rome and represent UW Bothell as a well deserving Gilman scholar.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education Rome <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The class will be centered around different aspects of Italy\u2019s education system. Students will discuss their observations and compare them to what they have studied about the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Yassen, the appeal to studying in Italy goes beyond what she will learn in the classroom. The curriculum includes visiting refugee camps to have a closer look at the current immigration crisis in Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am really looking forward to this aspect of the program,\u201d Yassen said. \u201cI come from a family of refugees, and I want to experience first-hand what these camps are like.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her parents were both refugees in Sudan before coming to Seattle. Her mother is originally from Eritrea, and her father from Ethiopia. \u201cI am grateful for the opportunity to explore parts of my family history I may not have learned otherwise,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yassen maintains close ties to her roots and serves on the youth board as an activities coordinator for the Ethiopian Muslim Association of Seattle (EMAS). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giving back <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

She also invests in the education of young people in the community by teaching Islamic studies. Yassen is committed to giving back in these ways, and this work is especially meaningful to her because her family benefited from EMAS services when she was growing up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, one of her main goals as an activities coordinator is to motivate her peers who spent a significant amount of time growing up in EMAS to return and serve as volunteers for the next generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been attending EMAS classes since I was 5 \u2014 and my experience giving back to the organization has led me to believe that my personal journey of growing up in Seattle helps me to connect with the younger students in aspects that only we can understand,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause of this realization, my mission is to hold events that encourage my peers to come back and share the lessons they have learned with the next generation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yassen works to benefit her community at UW Bothell as well. She works as a Social Justice Organizer<\/a> (SJO), a small cadre of students that provides programs to foster awareness and understanding of race, gender, ability and other social justice issues. One of the most popular programs they host is Dine-n-Dialogue, a series of events held multiple times each month that give students a platform to discuss pressing topics together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Yassen, the most memorable dialogue was around the subject of voting rights. \u201cThat was one of our biggest turnouts of the year. A lot of students just wanted to know what rights students have as voters and what voting means in the United States, especially since it was around election time,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany students left that session thanking us for providing such valuable information.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toward a brighter future <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With a humanitarian heart and a drive to make her goals a reality, Yassen\u2019s plan after college is to work as a counselor in elementary and middle schools. She\u2019d like to start her counseling career in the United States but eventually work in countries in the Middle East or East Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has a passion to help children in underserved populations, especially those who are being bullied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne thing that\u2019s huge in elementary and middle school today is bullying, and a lot of times students feel alone and helpless. I want to make sure they know that there is a resource provided by the school specifically for them,\u201d she said. \u201cIt’s important for students to know that there is somebody in the school who\u2019s there for them.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recipient of the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, Educational Studies major Rukeya Yassen will use the State Department award to learn about multiculturism on a study abroad trip to Italy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[202,211],"tags":[223,255],"school":[418],"class_list":["post-15443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-news","category-honors-and-awards","tag-scholarships","tag-study-abroad","school-school-of-educational-studies"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":null,"link_2":null,"link_3":null,"link_4":null,"link_5":null},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":null,"button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nGilman scholarship recipient will study in Italy - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2019\/07\/11\/gilman-scholarship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gilman scholarship recipient will study in Italy - News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recipient of the prestigious Benjamin A. 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