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University of Delaware senior Richard L. Codding has been named a winner of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, a new national award designed to promote study abroad.
Codding was awarded a $5,000 grant–the maximum amount available–by the Gilman scholarship program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education.
The Gilman is a highly competitive scholarship, and Codding was selected based on essays he wrote concerning the value of international study and his plans to promote his experience among fellow students.
“It is a feather in the cap of the University of Delaware to have one of our students receive a Gilman award, particularly in its very first year,” Lisa Chieffo, director of International Programs and Special Sessions, said. “We congratulate Richard and wish him well.”
The award will fund a study abroad experience in Costa Rica, where Codding will live with a family in San Pedro and study at the University of Costa Rica. He will take four Spanish language courses and a biology course,
Codding, who is a strong advocate for international study experiences, left for Costa Rica Monday, Feb. 4, and will remain in the Central American nation for about four months.
“If I could give other students one bit of advice, it would be to try your hardest and to participate in a study abroad program,” Codding said.
This is the second such experience for Codding, who has a double major in business administration and marketing and a double minor in Spanish and international business. He previously visited Spain in winter 2001 as part of the study abroad program.
Codding said he was unaware of international study opportunities until he came to the UD campus, where he was intrigued by pamphlets, displays in Smith Hall and comments by his language professors.
Of his first trip abroad last year, he said, “It was such a wonderful experience. I knew right away, before I even got back, that I would have to do it again.”
Codding said it is exhilarating to break the daily routine and to speak Spanish at length, an opportunity which is limited at home. “I walked around by myself, trying to talk to anyone I met,” he said. “People were so receptive and nice if you tried to communicate in their language.”
He still refers to his Spanish hosts in Granada as “family” and said he hopes to visit during a European study abroad trip next fall.
“As a student of Spanish, it is extremely important for Richard to spend an extended period of time in a Spanish-speaking country in order to further develop his language skills and to acquire a level of confidence that is impossible to attain during a winter or summer session,” Chieffo said.
“Living with a Costa Rican family and negotiating the challenges of an unfamiliar society will certainly help him attain a level of cross-cultural competence that will serve him well in whatever career he chooses to pursue,” she added.
At the moment, Codding, who is a member of the coeducational Phi Sigma Pi honor fraternity, said he expects that career will involve a good deal of international travel.
“Study abroad and the opportunity to be a part of another culture is one of the most eye-opening experiences I’ve had at the University of Delaware,” Codding said.
For more information on the UD study abroad program, see www.udel.edu/studyabroad/
For more information on the Gilman scholarship program, see www.iie.org/gilman/
Feb. 12, 2002
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