Haley Johnson

2025 Gilman Scholarship Recipient

Hometown

Indianapolis, IN

Major

Computer Science, Spanish

College

College of Science, College of Liberal Arts

 

Established in 2001, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is committed to sending American students of limited financial means from all backgrounds to study abroad.

 

Awarded the Gilman Scholarship to study abroad in Spain, Haley Johnson seeks to gain cultural insights and linguistic skills essential for her career aspiration to develop educational software for a language acquisition company. Choosing a student exchange program with Spain’s Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Haley plans to immerse herself in daily life by sharing an apartment in the surrounding neighborhoods near campus and away from tourist attractions. On campus, she will pair up with a local student through the Buddy Program for international students. From the simple act of grocery shopping to enrolling in the bilingual computer science and engineering program, Haley looks forward to expanding her cultural knowledge and gaining new perspectives that she will carry into a future career. At Purdue, Haley has challenged herself both inside and outside the classroom by taking 400 level classes in Spanish, engaging as an ESL tutor for elementary school students through the student organization, “Ayuda y Aprende,” and managing her personal finances to prepare for this opportunity.