Highline Community College

MEDIA RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY
DATE: February 2, 2009

CONTACT: Fran Clark: (206) 878-3710, ext. 3610, fclark@highline.edu

Lisa Skari: (206) 870-3705, lskari@highline.edu

Highline Community College student wins prestigious national scholarship

DES MOINES, Wash. —Catherine Dusharme is the first Highline Community College student awarded the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, a national award for undergraduate students who want to pursue their studies abroad.

The scholarship provided Dusharme, a Spanish major from Seattle, the opportunity to participate in a 10-week study abroad program in Alajuela, Costa Rica. She is currently taking classes at the Instituto de Cultura y Lengua Costarricense, a private Spanish language institute.

“It was a wonderful surprise to win the award and it’s an honor to be chosen to represent Highline Community College and the United States here in Costa Rica,” Dusharme said.

“It is an honor to have a Highline Community College student awarded the Gilman Scholarship,” said Fran Clark, Highline’s study abroad coordinator. “Catherine is a very deserving student who, I trust, will make the most of the time she spends learning, living and experiencing the culture in Costa Rica.”

Dusharme was one of 1,465 applicants vying for 600 awards. Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply toward their study abroad program costs.

The number of awards to students attending two-year education institutions increased 35 percent from the 2007-2008 academic year, according to the Gilman International Scholarship Program. For the 2008-2009 academic year, the number of two-year institution recipients is the highest ever in the history of the program.

The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Institute of International Education’s southern regional center in Houston.

For a full list of the spring 2009 Gilman Scholars, visit www.iie.org/gilman.

The Costa Rica study abroad program is offered to Highline students through the Washington Community College Consortium for Study Abroad, a group of 15 Washington state community colleges focused on providing study abroad programs for students.

There is a variety of programs offered throughout the year including Florence, Italy; London; and, being offered for the first time, Cusco, Peru. Students who may be interested in the study abroad program should contact Clark at fclark@highline.edu.

For more information about study abroad programs offered at Highline, visit www.highline.edu/international.

Highline Community College was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County. With approximately 10,000 students and 350,000 alumni, it is one of the state’s largest institutions of higher education. The college offers a wide range of academic transfer and professional-technical education programs, with day, evening, online and weekend classes.

With the most diverse population of any college in Washington state, Highline takes a multicultural approach to education for the success of all its students and the prosperity of its surrounding communities. Alumni include former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, entrepreneur Junki Yoshida and Washington state poet laureate Sam Green.

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