(Posted January 3, 2017)

Jilenny Guzman, a junior from Bronx, N.Y., received a Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship to study abroad fall semester at the University of Guanajuato, in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Photo by Gordon Dimmig '17
Jilenny Guzman, a junior from Bronx, N.Y., received a Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship to study abroad fall semester at the University of Guanajuato, in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Photo by Gordon Dimmig '17

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Jilenny Guzman, a junior at Juniata College from Bronx, N.Y. studying Spanish and secondary education, received a $2,000 Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship to study abroad fall semester at the University of Guanajuato, in Guanajuato, Mexico.

            Guzman, the daughter of Miguelina Reinoso and Jose Guzman, both of The Bronx, will attend classes at the Mexican university. She is a 2014 graduate of New World High School.

            The Gilman Scholarships, named for Benjamin Gilman, a Republican U.S. Representative from New York, offer grants for undergraduate students of limited financial means to study abroad. More than 1,200 scholarships of up to $5,000 are awarded every academic year. The program also encourages students to choose non-traditional destinations for their study-abroad experience.

            The program is funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State.

            In fall semester 2015, she worked in Juniata’s Language in Motion program, an outreach project that uses international students and United States students to deliver multicultural lessons at local high school and middle schools.

"I have been able to achieve a much higher potential. I really feel Juniata is a second home, thanks to my advisers, Kathleen Biddle, Holly Hayer and Kati Csoman."

Jilenny Guzman '18

            “During my freshman year I did not really have a support system, but after I connected with a mentor at Unity House, Katron Broomfield, I have been able to achieve a much higher potential. I really feel Juniata is a second home, thanks to my advisers, Kathleen Biddle, Holly Hayer and Kati Csoman.”

            She also is active on campus. She worked as a student mentor for the Plexus Program, an orientation program for diverse students. She also worked as a student assistant for the program. In addition, she is the coordinator for the college’s Mesa Hispanica, or Spanish Table.

Guzman also finds time to work as a tutor in all subjects at the AME Bethel Church, in Mount Union, Pa., working with underprivileged children.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.