Kia Ora! Hello! My name is Brianna Bal, but please call me Bri. I am 21 years old and I grew up in a southwest suburb of Chicago named Burbank. Burbank is a border city of Chicago, which means it was just a short train ride into the heart of the city. I enjoyed growing up in a city full of diversity, but I am a nature girl at heart. For college, I headed almost 2,000 miles away to the University of Montana (UM) to study wildlife biology!
Here at UM, I am also involved in the Franke Global Leadership Initiative and the Davidson Honors College. I studied abroad in New Zealand for a semester through these programs, learning about social inequality and human rights issues. I was fortunate enough to receive funding from the Franke family and the Gilman Scholarship to study abroad. This experience was so valuable to me and my growth, and I cannot wait to share it with you!
Want to know more about how you can study or intern abroad when you are a college student? The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Learn more about the scholarship by clicking here!
