University of Houston: UH Employee Selected to Help More Students Learn Abroad

Maggie Mahoney, assistant director of UH Learning Abroad, has been named a Gilman International Scholarship Advisor Ambassador by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Mahoney is one of only 20 people nationwide serving as a Gilman ambassador.

Since 2015, Mahoney has helped UH students apply for Gilman scholarships, which provide students of limited financial means the opportunities to learn and intern globally. Now as a Gilman advisor ambassador, she will spend the next two years informing and advising colleagues at diverse colleges and universities across the U.S. She and the other advisor ambassadors will share their expertise and best practices for guiding students through the application process as well as provide input on program policies and implementation.

“I am honored and excited to represent UH at a national level to provide insight and more access for students to participate in life-transforming learning abroad experiences,” Mahoney said. “Learning abroad is an opportunity for students to enrich their lives with exposure to diverse cultures and new experiences.”

The Gilman scholarship awards up to $5,000 to U.S. undergraduates with financial need and from diverse backgrounds for learning abroad. The scholarship is administered by the U.S. Department of State and Affairs Committee and its implementation is supported by the Institute of International Education. Since its inception in 2001, more than 34,000 scholarship recipients from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and all U.S. territories have studied or interned in more than 155 countries.

The new advisor ambassador program aims to strengthen the partnership between the Gilman program and the higher education community, elevate the profile of the scholarship among critical external audiences, offer higher education perspectives to the program and provide guidance to faculty advisors and administrators who seek to increase Gilman participation on their campuses.