As the Goabroad.com Top Study Abroad Organization of 2016, we’re excited to announce that GoAbroad.com’s Meaningful Travel Scholarships have been awarded to three students studying abroad with IES Abroad this fall!
Congratulations to:
- Elizabeth Reed | IES Abroad Madrid – Language & Area Studies | Franklin & Marshall College
- Kevin Seng | IES Abroad Barcelona – Liberal Arts & Business | Santa Clara University
- Morgan McCullough | IES Abroad Rabat – Study in Rabat | Western Michigan University
The Meaningful Travel Scholarship commemorates GoAbroad.com’s 20th anniversary by awarding students funding to embark on meaningful study abroad programs, such as an IES Abroad study abroad or internship program. The scholarship awarded 20 $500 scholarships—which is $10,000 worth of Meaningful Travel Scholarships—to help send 20 people abroad.
Students applied by submitting a travel plan statement with their study abroad intentions, photos to complement their travel plan statement, an original video describing why meaningful travel is important to them, as well as proof of enrollment in a program.
We can’t wait to hear what meaningful study abroad experiences that Elizabeth, Kevin, and Morgan have on their IES Abroad programs! But for now, check out why they’re studying abroad, and what meaningful travel means to them:
"After spending my senior year of high school volunteering with Spanish-speaking ESL students, I made it a life goal to become fluent in Spanish. I’m studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, in order to reach that goal and to understand a culture that is different from my own through full immersion. Meaningful travel means traveling with a goal that is important to you but also understanding that the journey to reach that goal might be different than you expect. I cannot wait to take classes, start my internship, explore Spain, and meet new people. Estoy muy emocionada y no puedo esperar!”
- Elizabeth Reed
"There is not a day that goes by when I don’t forget what my parents did in providing my two brothers and me the opportunity of having a wonderful childhood. As teens themselves, my parents were Cambodian refugees who had to sacrifice their education in order to provide for their families. Growing up, my parents wanted my brothers and I to assimilate American culture. They didn’t speak Khmer to us or make us practice the religion in the hopes that we would be more comfortable with American students. As I got older, I learned a lot more about my culture and was extremely fascinated by it. In college, as a student of color, I explored various multicultural shows and tackled questions on ethnicity and culture with many of my friends. Looking back, I wish my parents taught me Khmer culture sooner because it acts as a way to preserve history and provides me a place where I feel I belong. I am excited to have the opportunity to assimilate to a third culture.”
- Kevin Seng
"My fascination with the non-Western World began a decade post-9/11 during a semester abroad in Galicia, Spain, while listening to my host sister tell me about a time in Medieval Spain when followers of Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam lived in peace and prosperity for eight centuries. Wide-eyed, the questions poured out of my mouth as I tried to imagine a corner of the world without the religious turmoil that I was so accustomed to in the United States. Stories turned into weekend visits to centuries-old mosques and a trip to Southern Spain, where I stood on top of an old Roman castle and strained to see the ocean that would connect to Morocco. I was told that people would often swim from the top of Africa to Málaga to sell handmade goods, and that was when I first interacted with the Arabic language.”
- Morgan McCullough
If you’d like more information on IES Abroad study abroad programs, check out our IES Abroad programs page. Also, be sure to look at other scholarship and financial aid opportunities that can help students just like you study abroad!
