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.)

BEREA, Kentucky—The Center for International Education is proud to announce its four Berea College Nominees to the national slate for the 2016-2017 Watson Fellowship. Fewer than 160 graduating seniors from 40 institutions are nominated nationwide for this esteemed prize. Berea College is the only school in the Commonwealth from which The Watson Fellowship accepts candidates.

The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, named after the founder of International Business Machines (IBM), offers graduating college seniors of “unusual promise” the opportunity to engage in one year of independent exploration and travel outside the United States. Its goals are to enhance the capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership, and to foster humane and effective participation in the world community—in short, to develop future leaders who are self-reflective, well-informed, mindful citizens of the world. Each year, 40 winners of The Watson receive $30,000 each.

After intense deliberation over proposals from Berea’s impressive group of Watson Fellowship applicants, the four seniors nominated for the national running have been determined: Moondil Jahan, Liana Madrid, Ngoc Anh Cao, and Abigail Palmer.

Moondil Jahan is honored to explore the expression of grief and joy through indigenous drumming and dancing. She plans to travel to Spain, Germany, and Morocco. This journey, for Moondil, is not just one of exploring countries and cultures. She goes on to explain, “My Watson project entails a journey both inwards and outwards, concurrently towards myself and others. I am humbled and thrilled to receive such an honor to be a part of Watson Four.”

Abigail Palmer is excited about analyzing superheroes and anti-heroes in media around the world. She plans to travel to Spain, India, Italy, England, and Scotland. “I am absolutely honored to be offered such an opportunity and hope that I can represent myself, friends, family, and Berea well during this challenging, but rewarding process.”

Liana Madrid will be investigating the creation of cultural identities by ethnic minorities. Liana plans to travel to Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, South Africa, and Brazil. Liana is honored to have been chosen as well. She says, “I am more than grateful to be given the opportunity to move forward. It has been an on-going process for me to believe and see my potential, and it feels very surreal to have been nominated as one of four Berea students for a chance to be a Watson Fellow. Thank you!”

Ngoc Anh Cao, who will be looking into hearing the stories of Vietnamese Boat Refugees, will be traveling to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, and Canada. She feels that this project is giving her a voice. “This fellowship tells me that my personal story matters, and that

what I’m committed to doing will create something good in this world, not only for myself but also for others.”

#BereaAbroad #WatsonWednesday

Short Biography:

I am originally from New York City and my parents were immigrants from China in the early 90s. Prior to coming to Berea, I have lived in a bustling city, a rural small town in China, and the rolling hills of Virginia. As a child, my dream was to go to college one day, a privilege that my parents did not have. On top of being highly encouraged to pursue an undergrad degree, my mom has instilled the value of a strong work ethic in me. Post Berea, I hope to travel and attend grad school. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, learning different languages and cooking!

My Study Abroad Experience:

I studied abroad this past semester, spring 2015, in Alicante, Spain. My decision to study abroad was not an easy one. I did not think I would have enough money, I was not sure where to do, and when to go. However, I did know that time abroad would be exactly what I need to complete my college experience. After talking to fellow Berea College students that have gone abroad, I decided that I should see the world, even if it meant taking out a large loan. Fortunately, a year post my decision to study abroad, I am beyond content with my choice to study in Spain and I did so with the help of the GEO scholarship from Berea and the Gilman scholarship, leaving me only a small amount of loan.

When I was deciding on where to go, one of my friends told me to go where I want to live and not where I would be content to just travel. That helped me so much because I wanted to see so many places around the world but in reality, I wanted to live in a Spanish-speaking country in Europe where I could travel to other European countries so that really narrowed it down to Spain.

On January 9, 2015, I traveled across the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in Alicante, little did I know the impact that this medium-size city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea would leave such an impression on me. I started out as the quiet girl who went to a college that no one had heard of in the middle of Kentucky, all my classes were in Spanish, and I was living in a new environment with a different culture. Everything seemed that much scarier to me but to my surprise, Alicante felt like home in just a short amount of time; I had a distinct route that I took to walk home, I knew all the baristas at my coffee shop, I greeted the same neighbors every morning as I run out to catch the tram- I had my own routine.

During my time abroad, I was able to take 5 courses in Spanish, lived with an amazing host family, travel to other countries, paraglide on the coast of the Mediterranean sea, zip line from Spain to Portugal, visit most of the major cities in Spain and even attend a Barcelona soccer game; I have had an amazing journey. One of them most incredible experience of my abroad trip that was made possible because of the Gilman scholarship was my Camino de Santiago or St. James’s Way. A group of students from my study abroad program and some of our professors embarked on this five-day pilgrimage in the region of Galicia, Spain. We started our pilgrimage in Sarria and ended in Santiago de Compostela, where St. James was buried. Through this 75 miles walk, I learned a lot about my companions or “pilgrims” as we were called and a lot about myself. We supported each other through every step, laughed at every funny joke and the never-ending singing of Disney songs, cried through the pain of blisters, sunburn, and other wounds and sometimes literally carrying each other but we made it and we made it together. The Camino made me realize so much more about who I am, what I shared with other and who I want to become.

It’s extremely challenging to summarize everything that I have experienced in the five months that I was abroad but I do know that I do not regret any minute of it. I was able to see parts of the world that I never dreamed of ever seeing, I learned so much about other cultures and people, I experienced things that I did not think I had the courage to do and I learned so much about myself. And to think that all that would not have been possible without Berea College and the Gilman scholarship.

If you are interesting in hearing more about my adventures abroad, you can click on the link below to access my blog. Thanks for reading!

Mimi

What did you learn from your Fulbright experience?

I received an English Teaching Assistantship from the Fulbright Program, which provides funding for students, teachers, and professionals to work, teach, or do research abroad. I taught secondary English at two college-prep schools (called Gymnasium) in Nuremberg, Germany. I was assigned 14 different classes each roughly 20-30 students in size, and I was mainly involved in sparking discussion with and creating/giving lessons to these classes. We talked about a huge variety of topics related to American culture/history/ literature; everything from politics and gun control to rap music and the civil rights movement.

The biggest thing I learned was the direction I wanted to take in life moving forward. Since I was only giving lessons 12 hours per week (and always had Friday off!), I had a lot of time to explore my interests and figure out what I actually enjoyed and what I merely tolerated. That isn’t strictly related to the program itself, but it was the biggest thing I took away from the experience. From the experience directly, the biggest takeaway was probably how differently people from around the world understand their role in society. Germans are much more supportive of governmental activities to help the poor, even if that means much higher taxes; there’s more of a consensus that these programs benefit everyone in the long run. This isn’t so much the case here in the U.S, but living in a different culture, with Germans, I learned that this isn’t the default, that maybe these values are social constructs we have created and we can change.

Why should Berea students apply for the Fulbright?

There are a few reasons I think Berea students should apply for a Fulbright. First, it really is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I was able to visit 6 different countries and probably almost 50 cities during my 10 months abroad. All on my (roughly) $1100 a month stipend! Most students with a Berea background simply don’t have the resources to make this happen, I know I wouldn’t have otherwise. This brings me to my second point, Berea students have a unique advantage in the application process: we’re diverse (by Fulbright’s standards)! We represent a niche of applicants that the Fulbright program desperately lacks, people of color and those from low socio-economic backgrounds (this is purely based on my assessment of the people I met through the program).

Any wisdom you would like to offer them?

If you’re considering a program like this, I can’t recommend it enough. It was an astounding experience that showed me things about the world and myself that it would have been hard to discover otherwise. Play to your strengths in your application, have everyone and their brother/mother/sister read over it, go to the CTL, and overall just take the application process very seriously. Fulbright is a highly regarded fellowship/assistantship, and competition is fierce. That being said, I think Berea students are great applicants. I did it, and I think you can too. #fulbrightfriday #bereaabroad

If you want to apply, September 30 is Berea’s campus deadline. Click here for more information.

By Kerstin Wright, Center for International Education Education Abroad Team

On August 11, 2015, the Gilman Scholarship application window opened for Spring 2016 applications (and early Summer notification as well). Berea College students have won dozens of these national study abroad scholarships, which can be as high as $5000… $8,000 if a critical language scholarship is included).

Start your application today!

Want some application tips? Stop by our office at Woods-Penn 205 or shoot an email to Education Abroad Advisor Ann Butwell at ann_butwell@berea.edu

#BereaAbroad

The Center for International Education at Berea College is proud to announce that Janice D’Souza has been named as a 2015-2016 American India Foundation Clinton Fellow.

Janice graduated from Berea College in May of 2014 with a degree in Women’s and Gender Studies. She was active in the leadership of student government and a host of organizations while enrolled.

The American India Foundation (AIF) is dedicated to catalyzing social and economic change in India and building a lasting bridge between the United States and India. They were created in 2001 when President Clinton and Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee saw the need for a philanthropy platform that would connect the two countries. The American Indian Foundation has taken it upon itself, and succeeded, in making opportunities for India’s poor to live successful, productive lives while making a changing the lives of India’s less fortunate. They have successfully raised over 100 million dollars and impacted over 2.5 million lives.

One of the ways AIF Clinton has impacted lives is by pairing young professionals with leading NGO’s and social enterprises in India in order to “accelerate impact and create effective projects that are replicable, scalable, and sustainable.”

In an attempt to connect India and the United States, they have now expanded to include young Indians to work alongside fellows from the U.S.  Janice is originally from India, so she is part of this new fellowship trend. She will be placed with KC Mahindra Education Trust in Mumbai and will be working with two teams: Nanhi Kali (Girlhood Education Project) and Mahindra Pride School (Livelihood/Vocational training). The Nanhi Kali project was initiated in 1996 and tries to provide primary education to disadvantaged young girls in India. And Mahindra Pride School works with underprivileged youth by teaching them livelihood training to gain employment based skills.

We are excited for this impressive opportunity for Janice and know that she will make a big impact on India, the US and the world through this fellowship. We wish her well in this next chapter of her life.

Article by Robin Davis

Some speak of a post-racial America, suggesting that we have moved past racial discrimination and prejudice as a society. Yet, race and racial tensions seem to be the topics of the hour: it’s all we hear about on the news. Headlines featuring “Dolazel”, “police brutality” and etc. keep repeating themselves and reminding us that the abstract concept of race is still a very touchy and relevant subject in our country. Growing up as a biracial individual in Eastern Kentucky, 2008 Berea Watson fellow Alexander Gibson took it upon himself to learn more about the very concrete ways in which race affects people’s daily lives around the world.

For his Watson project, Alexander traveled to Venezuela, Vietnam, India and South Africa to understand how multiracial people across the globe define their identities individually and collectively. “When given a choice between the predominant ethnic group and a marginalized minority, most biracial people identify with the marginalized minority. This is interesting because you would expect that self-interested, rational, people would chose the identity that offers the most objective advantage, yet that is not the apparent result”, he told me.

Alexander’s year of exploration was fundamental in his effort to comprehend his own identity. It also opened his eyes to the realities of multiracial people in vastly diverse contexts. “The Watson Fellowship can be a highly-isolating experience”, Alexander reflected. “It made me feel less connected with my fellow Americans and more interested in global, as opposed to local, politics. A year as a vagabond creates a feeling of freedom and separateness from traditional human experiences that I don’t know I will ever recover from. Nor, am I sure I want to”.

The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, named after the founder of International Business Machines (IBM), offers graduating college seniors of “unusual promise” the opportunity to engage in one year of independent exploration and travel outside the United States. Its goals are to enhance the capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership, and to foster humane and effective participation in the world community—in other words, to develop future leaders who are self-reflective, well-informed, mindful citizens of the world. Only 40 institutions nationwide are allowed to nominate candidates for this esteemed prize. Berea College is the only school in Kentucky from which The Watson Fellowship accepts nominations. Each Watson Fellow is awarded $30,000 to pursue their international project.

Find more information on how to apply for the Watson Fellowship.

Applications due on Sept. 15th, 2015.