Stetson University senior Emmanuel Delgado has been awarded the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study in Spain this fall.

An international business major from DeLand, Fla., Delgado is one of only 1,159 students in the United States to receive the scholarship this year. He received an award of $4,500 to travel and study at the Universidad de Carlos III in Madrid for the fall semester. In addition to taking business courses, he will study European history and law. He will live with a Spanish family during his stay.

Delgado’s parents, Carlos and Hermelinda, are originally from Mexico and moved to Florida not long before he was born. Spanish was his first language, and he said he has always been interested in learning more about other cultures and countries.

“I am so excited,” he said. “This gives me my first opportunity to explore the world outside of DeLand. It opens up different cultures and different people to me and offers new experiences.”

The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards for undergraduate study abroad and was established by the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000. Award recipients are chosen by a competitive selection process with applicants evaluated based on a Follow-on Service Project Proposal, Statement of Purpose essay and their academic progress. When selected, the recipient must carry out a Follow-on Service Project at his or her home institution to promote international education and the Gilman Scholarship Program. Delgado plans to make presentations on his experience in Spanish classes at Stetson once he returns.

Funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, the program’s mission is to provide an opportunity to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad as well as the regions in which they study.

“It speaks to the caliber of StetsonU students, and Emmanuel in particular, that Stetson has a Gilman Scholarship winner,” said Eric A. Canny, director of International Learning at Stetson. “We hope this is just the beginning of more recipients of such esteemed national awards for study abroad. We encourage our students to ‘Dare to Study Abroad,’ and work with them on exploring ways to finance the opportunity.”