Meet an A&S Leader in Action!
Kétina François – Following the Music
Fast Facts
- Hometown: Bismarck, N.D.
- Majors: Music Education, Spanish & Global Studies
- Musical Instruments: Double Bass, Guitar, Piano & Voice
Kétina François’s passion for music runs deep — a love her parents proudly take credit for. They often remind her that it all began when they played classical music for her as a baby. That early influence eventually led Kétina to UND, where she’s now dedicated to studying music education and dreams of becoming a conductor.
Congratulations Kétina
In December we learned that Kétina has been awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study abroad in Spring 2025 at the American Institute for Foreign Study’s (AIFS) University of Salamanca Program in Spain. This incredible opportunity will allow Kétina to enhance her teaching skills and Spanish fluency as she prepares for a career as a conductor.
The Gilman program is a program of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program offers grants to US undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies abroad or career-oriented internships abroad. This international exchange is designed to help students thrive in the global economy and to contribute to solutions for shared global challenges. This year, approximately 1,600 American undergraduate students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, were awarded a scholarship from the Fall 2024 application cycle. On average, 65 percent of Gilman recipients are from rural areas and small towns across the United States, and half are first-generation university students.
