By Margaret Schell

A pplying himself to make big things happen is just another day for Georgia College & State University junior Caleb Rogers. 

As a double major in biology and Spanish with a minor in chemistry in the biomedical sciences concentration, he was recently awarded a U.S. Department of State Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study the culture of Chile and intern in a Chilean clinic. 

Rogers hopes the nearly three-week study abroad program this summer will provide an up-close experience of the Chilean culture and valuable insights into international healthcare systems.

“I was shocked when I found out I received the Gilman Scholarship,” Rogers said. “My self-determination paid off. Plus, I’ve built a good foundation for this study abroad opportunity.”

He’s looking forward to an internship in one of Chile’s university clinics, because Rogers is in Georgia College’s Pre-Med Mentoring Program. In his Spanish class, he researched the discrimination of Hispanic individuals in the healthcare systems of other countries. Now, he’ll get to see what the healthcare system is like in Chile.

“It’ll be a great hands-on experience for me which could be used in my capstone project, which focuses on biology,” he said. “I love science.”

Rogers is putting himself through school, so the scholarship process is not new to him.

He wrote three essays demonstrating how he’s shown responsibility at school, his academic interests and how the Chile Study Abroad Program would help him pursue those goals and financial need.

Rogers will stay with a Chilean host family while he’s there.

“This in-depth experience will benefit me in many ways,” he said. “I pride myself in speaking Spanish, but getting out there speaking it socially is something I’ve not had an opportunity to do yet.”

Anna Whiteside introduced Rogers to the Gilman Scholarship, encouraged him to apply and walked him through the scholarship application and reviewed his essays. Whiteside is the assistant director of the John E. Sallstrom Honors College and coordinator of the National Scholarships Office.

“I’m so grateful to her for motivating me because I was very busy at the time,” Rogers said.

“I put a lot of myself into the application and essays, showing that I worked hard to get where I am today,” Rogers continued. “I’ve had to fight for many opportunities in my life. Getting this scholarship is validating for the work I put into it.”

His goal is to become a pediatric oncologist. Rogers is interested to see how hospital staff work with children.

He also found Dr. Brantley Nicholson, coordinator of the Chile Study Abroad Program, to be helpful in answering all his questions and guiding him through the application process.

“I’ve known him since my freshman year, and he’s encouraged me to go on this study abroad program for a few summers,” Rogers said. “Many others at Georgia College have helped me as well. The support they showed is invaluable to me. It’s been incredible.”

To apply for a Gilman Scholarship, students need to be eligible for the Pell Grant and either applying to, or have been accepted to, a credit-bearing study abroad or internship program. Interested students can contact the International Education Center to choose and apply for an appropriate study abroad program. Then, students can contact Whiteside about their application and essays. The application deadline for this scholarship is March 6.

“I think students who want to study abroad but need financial assistance should apply for the Gilman Scholarship,” he said, “Put yourself and your story out there – it might land you an opportunity to study abroad.”

Fall 2025 entering and returning students are able to apply for scholarships through the GCSU Scholarship Application. The application is open now and will close Feb. 17. Scholarships for specific fields of study have varying deadlines and can be found here.