Clarence Williams is one of three Georgia Perimeter College students who were selected among 500 students nationwide to receive a Benjamin Gilman International Scholarship for Study Abroad during the summer of 2011. The trio was selected from more than 2,600 scholarship applicants from across the United States.

This was the first time GPC students have won this award, says Adrienne Langston, study abroad advisor at GPC’s Center for International Education.

Williams came to GPC as a nontraditional student, after taking time to raise his family and work.

An art major on Decatur Campus, Williams dreams of one day becoming a museum curator. He used the $5,000 Gilman scholarship to study art appreciation and drawing in the country famous for its ancient art—Greece. His study abroad trip began May 18 and continued for five weeks.

According to its website, "The Gilman scholarship aims to support students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, including but not limited to, students with high financial need, community college students, students in under-represented fields such as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities. The program seeks to assist students from a diverse range and type of public and private institutions from all 50 states."