Typhani Payne gushed with emotion after learning she’d received a coveted scholarship to study in Paris this summer.

“I remember crying like a little baby,” the 22-year-old Georgia Perimeter College business major said.

A GPC-Alpharetta student leader, Payne is one of more than 1,000 American students from 332 U.S. colleges and universities selected to receive the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, sponsored by the nation’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The students will either intern or study abroad over the next several months.  

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our GPC student, Typhani Payne, to acquire an experience of global proportions,” said Dr. Pam Moolenar Wirsiy, executive director of the college’s Center for Teaching and Learning and Center for International Education.

Payne leaves for Paris June 30 and will study art at Academie Charpentier. She also plans to visit six other countries while in Europe. You can follow her study abroad adventures and those of other Georgia Perimeter students via Twitter (#GPCStudyAbroad).

Meantime, follow these three simple steps if you or someone you know is interested in studying abroad: 

1.       Visit the Georgia Perimeter College Study Abroad website. 

2.       Once there, click on the country of interest to learn about class offerings, the application process and deposit required.

3.       Check out the Frequently Asked Questions for additional information.