GC&SU student Dilanka Seimon presented with the Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant of $1,000

By Erin Semple
Staff Writer

Dilanka Seimon of Sri Lanka was presented with the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi Study Abroad Grant of $1,000. Annually, Phi Kappa Phi gives twenty awards to people in the nation to attend a study abroad program.
“When I first applied for this grant, I didn’t think I had a chance of receiving the award, because it is competitive,” said Seimon. “It is a true honor.”
Seimon is a junior majoring in economics at Georgia College and State University. He was one of four students in the southeast to receive the award and the first student at Georgia College & State University to receive the award.
“I plan to participate in the Maymester study abroad in the Czech Republic,” said Seimon. “I’m interested in the transition that the country has been experiencing for the past several years.”
Seimon, the son of Clarence and Surangani Seimon of Colombo, graduated from St. Joseph’s College in Colombo. At St. Joseph’s College, he served as deputy head Prefect, president of the English Literary Union, treasurer and vice president of the Interact Club, House Athletics captain, captain of the debate team and vice president of the General Knowledge Club. “College students should have a well-rounded character, and being involved with these organizations is a good way to develop this,” said Seimon.
He received the Best Shakespearean Actor’s Award and the gold medal for oratory and was a member of the Rotary Youth Exchange Tour to Madurai, India. He also represented Sri Lanka at the Presidential Classroom’s Future World Leaders’ Summit in Washington, D.C., and served as a Sri Lankan delegate to the International Model United Nations Conference in New York, N.Y. At GC&SU, Seimon serves as the president of the Economics and Investment Club. He is a former senator with the Student Government Association and a junior class representative for Eta Sigma Alpha Honors Society. He is also a member of the Dean’s Student Advisory Committee for the School of Business and the ex-president of the International Club. He is also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society, and Omicron Delta Epsilon, a national economics honor society.
He has been on the Dean’s List every semester and was nominated for the Most Outstanding Emerging Student Leader of the Year Award. He presented two papers at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference in Chicago, Ill. Seimon is a member of the Catholic Church Youth Group, a Resident Assistant for Terrell Hall and works as a tutor of economics and statistics.
“I would like to thank Dr. Sallstrom, Dr. Moody, Dr. Saladin, Dr. Viau and the Honors Program for nominating me for this scholarship,” said Seimon. “I would also like to thank Dr. DePaolo and Mr. Murali Thirumal for the advice regarding the scholarship and the study abroad program.”
The Internship and Study Abroad program is one of the ways that America’s oldest, largest, and most highly selective, all-discipline honor society seeks to recognize and promote academic excellence. For more information, contact Phi Kappa Phi and its advisor, Dr. John Sallstrom, at 445-4463.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 5 2002. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry