WKU student Tramaine Hawkins of Hopkinsville was named the institution’s first Gilman-McCain Scholar, a designation awarded to 100 undergraduate child and spousal dependents of active or activated U.S. military personnel for study abroad per academic year.
The John S. McCain International Scholarship for Military Families (Gilman-McCain Scholarship) awards $5,000 for students to study or intern abroad. In summer 2023, Hawkins will use his Gilman-McCain Scholarship to study healthcare administration in Tanzania, a country in the sub-Saharan region of Africa, through the Kentucky Institute for International Studies (KIIS).
Hawkins is a senior majoring in health care administration with a minor in business administration, and he is pursuing certificates in long-term care administration and applied data analytics. “This opens a lot of doors to endless possibilities for me and my career as a healthcare professional,” said Hawkins. “This experience will connect my undergraduate degree to my postgraduate goal of earning a master’s degree to address health inequalities here in America, like the disparity in healthcare literacy among African Americans and low income populations.”
To seek funding for study abroad, Hawkins worked with Lindsey Houchin, Assistant Director of the Office of Scholar Development (OSD). Since 2008, WKU students from all majors and backgrounds have earned nearly $6.5 million in nationally competitive scholarships with support from OSD.
