Six Coastal Carolina University students have recently received a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. A program of the U.S. Department of State, the Gilman Scholarship is a nationally competitive award that supports and encourages undergraduate students to pursue opportunities abroad. Recipients can receive up to $5,000.

During the past four years, a total of five CCU students were awarded the Gilman Scholarship, which makes the six winners in this competition cycle alone especially notable.

CCU’s 2021-2022 scholarship recipients include:

• Shelbi Ankiewicz, a senior communication major from Myrtle Beach, S.C. She is participating in an internship program at the International Affairs Office at the Hochschule Koblenz RheinAhr Campus, where she is managing their blog for current and incoming exchange students.

• Quinn Blankenship, a junior biochemistry major from North Myrtle Beach, S.C. Through CCU Spring Break in France, he traveled to Paris and participated in a food chemistry course.

• Carissa Church, a senior engineering science major from Hilton Head Island, S.C. She will participate in a virtual study abroad program in Iceland for renewable energy innovation and sustainability.

• Shana McSweeney, a junior business major from Syracuse, N.Y. She will study at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, during the Fall 2022 semester.

• Zahir Scott, a senior from Hagerstown, Md. During Maymester, he will participate in Nexus of Security: Illicit Networks in the Mediterranean in Cyprus.

• Brianna Sullivan, a sophomore sustainability major from Westchester, Ill., and a student in the HTC Honors College. During Maymester, she will participate in the Coastal in Tuscany program.

For more information, visit CCU’s Gilman Scholarship Program website or contact Darla Domke-Damonte, Ph.D., CCU’s associate provost for global initiatives, at ddamonte@coastal.edu.