47 Berea students studied abroad for a semester or a full year—30% more than the previous year and an all-time record for Berea College! A total of 169 students experienced some kind of educational experience abroad in more than 35 countries.
40% of the class of 2015 engaged Education Abroad while at Berea College—up 6% from the year before.
11 Berea students received a combined $41,000 through the national Benjamin Gilman Scholarship program, which is designed to diversify the kinds of students who study and intern abroad and the countries and regions where. The Gilman supports undergraduates who might otherwise not participate for financial reasons. Berea was the top recipient in Kentucky.
11 Berea Faculty members taught a course abroad—either through our internal Berea International Summer Term (BIST) Program or through Consortia.
90+ people attended CIE’s weekly international program—an increase of about 10 more people per program. For a third year in a row, the Center for International Education managed a wonderful collaboration within our office: a weekly lunch program called Think Globally—it’s Friday (TGIF). The program featured students who are either international or have studied abroad. The food was both regionally appropriate and delicious. Every student who studies abroad shares some of their learnings with the campus community. This is our most popular format.
$600 in scholarship funds for study abroad was raised by a student-led “Wellness Around the World” 5K.
$30,000 went to this year’s Berea Thomas J. Watson Fellowship winner Tuvshinzaya Amarzaya who is currently traveling all over the world looking at martial arts. Berea is one of only 40 schools nationwide that can nominate candidates for this prestigious award.
Nearly $400,000 was the amount that Berea’s CIE endowed funds contributed toward students’ experiences abroad. Summer abroad students received $161,125 in support from endowed funds administered by the Center for International Education. The CIE awarded $237,791 for Berea Term Abroad for all semester and year-long study abroad programs. Additional funds were awarded by the Foreign Language Department.
(Berea is unique because every student approved for study abroad receives a one-time scholarship to help defray the extra costs. We are extremely grateful for all this support—and especially thankful for the donors who have generously given funds specifically so that our students can foster a greater understanding of, and respect for, all peoples of the earth.)