Karolina Ratnikova and the rest of the RELS:216/300 summer study abroad cohort.
KAROLINA RATNIKOVA / COURTESY
By Karen Flores, Staff Writer
The global presence of Manhattan University continues to expand as three current students and one alum have received the U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, which gives those who receive the Pell Grant the chance to study abroad.
The recipients include Laenaly Guerrero, an MU alum, Konstantinos Nalpantidis, a junior English major with a concentration in creative writing, Karolina Ratnikova, a computer engineering major and Juan Ortiz Soler, a senior International Studies major with minors in philosophy and religious studies.
Ortiz Soler is preparing to study in Morocco during the next semester. He shared with The Quadrangle a bit about how he is navigating his time to immerse himself into the Arabic language. He is also a six-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.
“I’m all into my academics this semester and especially in Arabic 101, which is taught by Professor Mohammed,” Ortiz Soler said. “ [I] make the effort to ask him to introduce me to a bit of Arabic 102 because I’m taking Arabic 102 and 103 in Morocco. So I’m basically just trying to immerse myself in the Arabic language and culture as much as I can before the next semester. I also want to work within the U.S. Department of State and this scholarship seamlessly connects with what I want to do post-grad.”
Nalpantidis, a five-year Marine Corps reservist veteran, was able to travel to Mexico during the summer session to complete one of his course electives. The course was ENGL 292/392: Food Writing in Literature. As part of the course, he traveled to Mexico City, Puebla, Hidalgo and Oaxaca.
“We read some gastronomic literature and we would write about the food we tasted after the matter,” Nalpantidis said. “Afterwards we would go into depth about the different aspects of the food, how it was made, what was used to make it and we discuss what these things can do in regard to impacting a culture.”
Ratnikova, originally from Russia, spent a month in Florence, Italy during the summer and completed the course RELS 216/300: Saints & Catholic Imagination. She expressed that being able to study abroad really helped her not only get to experience the country but also to get her elective courses done.
“I had to take a summer class to make sure I stayed on track with my schedule and I figured I might as well go somewhere and get more out of it than just academic credits,” Ratnikova said. “I studied Italian in high school so I was pretty interested in the country. And I was like, ‘Why not see the world if I have this opportunity, especially with the Gilman Scholarship?’ I enjoyed it all very much.”
Ratnikova encourages students who are interested in studying abroad to apply for the scholarship.
“The college study abroad program is probably the best way for young adults to travel somewhere else while doing academics and the Gilman Scholarship was a big reason as to why I was able to travel,” Ratnikova said. “So if you want to study abroad and have the time to fill out the application, it’s really worth a try.”