February 3, 2026

by Lauren Ferguson

Iliany Francisco ‘27 never thought she would study abroad.

Now, thanks in part to the support and encouragement she received at Ramapo College of New Jersey, the first-generation college student is spending the spring semester of her junior year at the American College of Greece.

“It’s an opportunity that I never thought I’d have, coming from a single parent household,” she said from her dorm in Greece that she shares with eight roommates from around the world. “All the support I’ve received, I’m really thankful for it.”

With the encouragement of her advisors at Ramapo, Francisco, of Linden, NJ, applied for and was awarded a prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State.

The highly-competitive scholarship program is geared toward Pell Grant recipients. It provides “merit-based scholarships to outstanding American undergraduate students with high financial need to pursue credit-bearing academic studies and career-oriented internships abroad,” according to the program’s website.

This semester, Francisco, a marketing major with a minor in business analytics, is taking courses in luxury branding and fashion, financial accounting, international marketing, and international business. She also has plans to travel around Greece to Santorini, Mykonos, and Rhodes, and to make trips to England, France and Spain.

Iliany Francisco ‘27 visted the historic Odeon of Herodes Atticus while studying in Greece.

Francisco said by taking international marketing and international business at an “international level,” it could help her in the long run if she pursues an international career.

“I know this opportunity is going to open my mind more. It is going to make me grow professionally and personally,” she said.

Francisco is used to growth and change. The Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) scholar was originally a nursing major, before she realized she wanted to pursue a corporate career, and took the leap to change to marketing.

“I knew that business was going to require me to step out of my comfort zone,” she said. But, “I changed my major and honestly, after that, so many doors opened for me.”

Last semester, she landed an internship at Fox Television Stations as a creative services and news intern. She was in the Fox 5 New York office when she received a notification on her phone to check the status of her Gilman Scholarship application. “I open it, literally shaking right next to my supervisor … I click on it, and I was like, ‘Oh my God. I got the scholarship,” she recalled.

Iliany Francisco ‘27 spent the Fall 2025 semster commuting into Manhattan to intern at Fox 5 Television Stations.

At Ramapo, Francisco has served as both a supplemental instructor and success mentor for EOF, a front desk assistant at Ramapo’s Center for Reading and Writing, a College Programming Board student coordinator, and a student activities revenue management assistant for the Center for Student Involvement. She is also in Alpha Alpha Alpha, the national honor society for first-generation college students, and Alpha Lambda Delta, the honor society for first-time, first-semester college students.

Francisco has dreams of pursuing her MBA, and working for a cosmetics corporation. “I’d like to climb the corporate ladder, and hopefully become part of the executive side of business, whether that is a president, vice president, that is my goal,” she said.

When Francisco returns to campus, she plans to mentor other EOF scholars who may be interested in, but nervous, like she was, to study abroad.

“With all of these experiences and changing my major, it really taught me to believe in myself. Each of those things taught me the value of precision and positivity and courtesy. It’s all about empowerment, embracing responsibility, and trying new things out,” Francisco said. “It can all be scary. But, you just have to remember to step out of your comfort zone. As long as you do that, you’ll make it.”