Michael Greene will study at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso in Chile.

MURRAY, Ky. -- Murray State University is pleased to announce that Michael Greene of Cadiz has been selected to receive the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study or intern abroad in spring 2019.

Greene is one of 844 undergraduate students from 355 colleges and universities across the U.S. to receive the scholarship opportunity. The Congressionally funded Gilman scholarship broadens the U.S. student population's world view by providing scholarships to outstanding undergraduate Pell Grant recipients to fund study abroad opportunities.

"This particular scholarship allows students who might not otherwise be able to afford to study abroad the opportunity to do so without financial worries," said Robyn Pizzo, education abroad advisor at Murray State who works with students to strengthen their applications for the Gilman scholarship. "They can focus on the academics of the program and the experiences they are having abroad rather than worrying about money."

Greene medically retired from the U.S. Army in 2016 and is now pursuing higher education at Murray State. He is planning to study abroad on an exchange program at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso in Chile.

Greene is a volunteer with Team Rubicon, an international disaster response nonprofit organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to provide rapid relief for communities in need. On a recent mission in Puerto Rico, Greene decided to pursue Spanish language study in order to communicate better with populations in need.

"Given the ever-evolving damage of disasters throughout the world, I am sure that it will not be a matter of if I will use the Spanish language training I have learned in this study abroad program, but a matter of where in the world I will be and who I will be helping," Greene said.

Since the Gilman program's establishment in 2001, more than 1,300 U.S. institutions have sent more than 28,000 Gilman scholars who represent the rich diversity of the United States to 145 countries around the globe.

"The Gilman program aims to make study abroad and its career advantages more accessible and inclusive for American students," said Heidi Manley, chief of USA Study Abroad at the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. "These diverse American students gain critical skills overseas that expand their career options and ability to make an impact in their home communities."

Manley also noted that the program particularly focuses on supporting first-generation college students, students in STEM fields, ethnic and racial minority students, students with disabilities, students who are veterans, students attending community colleges and minority serving institutions and other populations underrepresented in study abroad.