Luis Santillan-Guzman, a Linfield College junior from Parkdale, will study abroad in Marseille, France, in the fall after receiving a $5,000 scholarship from the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program.
Santillan-Guzman will attend a French program at the American University Center in Provence. The full-immersion aspect is one of the things that attracted him to the program.
“I will sign a contract pledging to not speak English and to minimize consumption of English online,” explained Santillan-Guzman, who majors in French and sociology at Linfield. He also studied French in junior high and high school before coming to Linfield.
“I learned so much French in that first semester at Linfield,” he said, comparing his language study to building a car. “High school gives you the tools to build it, but the Linfield language classes add the fuel, get the machine running and show you the many different directions you can take it.”
In addition to strengthening his language skills, he said Linfield has prepared him for the year abroad in another culture. He praised the study abroad orientation program, provided by the International Programs Office.
“I’m looking forward to immersing myself in a totally new place,” said Santillan-Guzman. “Marseille is one of the oldest immigrant centers in the world. I’m interested in immigrant issues relating to it and minorities especially. I plan to do research there.”
This summer, Santillan-Guzman is participating in the Adelante Mujeres Evaluation Project, doing research on entrepreneurship of Latina women in Yamhill County.
After completing the program and returning to the United States, he will give a series of presentations in local schools targeted to the Latino community about the value of study abroad.
Santillan-Guzman is one of 860 American undergraduate students from 332 colleges and universities across the U.S. selected to receive the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study or intern abroad during the 2015-16 academic year. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply towards their study abroad or internship program costs. Scholarship recipients have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of other cultures, countries, languages and economies.
