A Nebraska Wesleyan University senior has won a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship that will take her to Rwanda this summer.
Kelsy Reynoldson, a senior language arts education major from Eagle, will spend the summer researching the rhetoric of reconciliation and forgiveness between the Hutu and the Tutsi.
“We have much to learn from Rwanda,” she said. “The country’s ability to rebuild and recuperate, to find the strength to come together after [the 1994] genocide, can show us much about what it’s like to reconcile.”
The Gilman Scholarship is a nationally competitive program that assists students with study abroad expenses.
“I know that this experience will be one of the most meaningful investments of my life as it will equip me with knowledge and experiences that I can use as a teacher to impact future students,” she said.
In addition to her research, Reynoldson plans to teach English at a Rwandan middle school. She plans to incorporate her experience into her own classroom. Starting in August, Reynoldson will teach middle school literacy in Aurora, Colo.
Nebraska Wesleyan University students have won 33 Gilman Scholarships since the award was created in 2001.