WINSTED, CT – May 25, 2021 – Northwestern Connecticut Community College is pleased to announce that student Jacqueline Lovejoy, a Fine Arts Major who will be graduating in May 2022, is the recent recipient of a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with funding provided by the U.S. government, and is supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE). “The applicant pool was highly competitive,” the U.S. State Department affirms, making Lovejoy’s selection “an impressive accomplishment.” Lovejoy is the second student from Northwestern to be awarded a Gilman Scholarship; student Robert Fecteau received a Gilman scholarship in 2020.
The U.S. Department of State sponsors and oversees the Gilman Program as part of its effort to expand the number of Americans studying and interning abroad, thereby gaining skills that are critical to our national security and prosperity.
Lovejoy was awarded the scholarship to participate in a study abroad trip to Spain with Northwestern Connecticut Community College’s Study Abroad program. The trip is scheduled to take place in January 2022.
Northwestern’s study abroad program was launched in 2019 through a Capacity Building grant from the State Department as well as an Advanced Technology Education International grant from the National Science Foundation. The college has hosted two international trips so far. The first was in March 2019 to Paris and Nancy, France where faculty members Jessica Treat, Sharon Gusky and Crystal Wiggins met with faculty from the Institute of Technology at the University of Lorraine. A second trip brought seven NCCC students in January 2020 to Spain where students visited the historical and culturally rich cities of Barcelona, Toledo, and Madrid, along with several manufacturing and educational sites. The program was put on pause during the last year due to Covid-19 travel restrictions but will be restarting in January 2022 with trips to France and Spain.
This unique program offers students and faculty opportunities to receive cultural enrichment, to learn about educational and internship opportunities abroad, and to participate in meaningful and potentially life-changing experiences. Lovejoy’s application centered on her interest in fine art and in particular, in the work of the Spanish painter, Joaquin Sorolla. “A great impressionist and sometimes abstract painter, Sorolla is an incredible Spanish artist who inspires me,“ Lovejoy writes.
As a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship recipient, Jacqueline Lovejoy will also engage in a service project following completion of the trip. She looks forward to sharing what she has learned with the community. “My career goals are to be a working artist and creative that makes mindful and meaningful connections with individuals, groups, organizations, companies and non-profits. I hope to contribute to the world in a peaceful and positive way, using and teaching about how art can be incorporated in all aspects of life.”
For more information about Northwestern Connecticut Community College’s study abroad program, please contact Jessica Treat, Study Abroad Coordinator and Professor of English and Spanish at: jtreat@nwcc.edu.
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