Rutgers University is proud to announce that 12 students from across its New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden campuses have been awarded the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for the Spring 2026 cycle. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the Gilman Scholarship supports students of limited financial means in pursuing study or internship opportunities abroad, helping to foster cross-cultural understanding and prepare the next generation of globally engaged leaders.
At the Global Appreciation Dinner in April 2026, Neha Tehmas, a senior majoring in Public Health at Rutgers, shared her reflections on participating in the Global Health Practicum program in Tanzania in January 2024. Here are her remarks from the event.
I went to Tanzania on a Global Health Practicum in January of 2024, where I shadowed nurses and physicians in a variety of different hospital departments, got to know the nursing students at the University of Dodoma, executed nursing simulations with them, and helped train them in Stop The Bleed.
As graduation approaches this May, Joie Jarilla is reflecting on a Rutgers journey defined by creativity, global exploration, and a commitment to helping others find their place in the world. Jarilla, who will earn her degree in Information Technology and Informatics (ITI) from the Rutgers School of Communication and Information (SCI), has built her academic path around web design and user experience. But it’s her work beyond the classroom, particularly through her study abroad experience in South Korea, that has shaped her aspirations in powerful ways.
Rutgers Global offered a new faculty-led study abroad program this winter called Egyptian Art: Ancient, Islamic, and Modern. This short-term program took place between semesters in January and was led by Rutgers-Newark faculty member Professor Alex Seggerman as part of a course she taught in the fall. The on-campus course covered the history of art in Egypt, including ancient sphinxes, Coptic textiles, medieval Islamic mosques, modern urban developments, and the contemporary graffiti of the Arab Spring. In January 2026, the students traveled to Egypt for ten days, staying in Cairo with a day trip to Alexandria, and visited ancient sites including the Pyramids of Giza and the King Tut treasures at the new Grand Egyptian Museum, as well as other heritage sites with diverse religious backgrounds like the Ben Ezra Synagogue, the Coptic Hanging Church, and Ibn Tulun Mosque.
Rutgers University–Camden students, Christien Nicole Brown, Eva Chen, and Tia Franco, have been selected as Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholars for the Spring 2026 semester. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the selective, merit-based scholarship supports students with financial need as they pursue academic study or research abroad. All three recipients are first-generation college students and together represent each of Rutgers–Camden’s three undergraduate colleges.
For many students, a passport is more than a travel document; it’s a ticket to global study, research, and career opportunities. Recognizing this, Rutgers Global–Study Abroad launched the Passport to the World initiative in 2022, designed to increase the number of matriculated Rutgers students with U.S. passports across all campuses: Newark, Camden, Rutgers Health, and New Brunswick.
One of those students is Le’Nahjaa Bailey (Rutgers-New Brunswick, Class of 2026), who received her first passport through the program and spent the summer studying at Ewha University in Seoul, South Korea. Bailey, also a Gilman Scholar, described the experience as transformative.