Six WU women earn Vira Heinz travel scholarship
Six Waynesburg University students have been selected to receive scholarships through the Vira I. Heinz Program for Women in Global Leadership.
The Vira I. Heinz Program, part of Heinz Endowments, is intended to empower young women to address global issues by offering opportunities for international education, leadership development and community service. Typically, each participating college or university in Pennsylvania is granted three spots for female sophomores or juniors. This year, as has been the case at Waynesburg in previous years, Waynesburg was granted six spots.
The program provides scholarships of at least $5,000 for women who have never been out of the United States to study abroad for the summer, and Waynesburg is one of only 13 higher education institutions to participate in the program. Collectively, the Waynesburg recipients will receive more than $40,000 for their trips, which are scheduled to take place during the summer of 2016.
“It’s an honor,” said Pat Bristor, associate dean of students and coordinator of the University’s Vira I. Heinz Program. “It’s the quality of our students. We have outstanding students, and we have exceptional female students who apply for the scholarship and really present themselves well.”
The six students were selected after an application process that included creating a proposal for their intended travel plans and interviews in front of a committee. Now, they will participate in a year-long program which includes spring and fall retreats at the University of Pittsburgh, a summer of travel, an experience report and a community engagement experience.
This year’s Waynesburg scholarship recipients include sophomores Melanie Byler, Moesha Godwin and Alexis Prettiman and juniors Summer Fiori, Anna Narehood and Maranda Valentino.
Byler, an athletic training and exercise science major from Salisbury, Pennsylvania, plans to travel through International Studies Abroad to India. She will be completing a healthcare service learning program and hopes to learn the Hindi language, as well as expand her knowledge of Eastern medicine.
Fiori, a psychology major from Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, will travel to Northern Thailand to study at Chiang Mai University through the Center for International Studies.
She will study the Buddhist religion, learn to speak Thai and serve as a volunteer at the Elephant Nature Park. She also plans to spend time touring the country and experiencing the culture.
“This experience will be unlike anything I have ever encountered,” she said. “I would say I am most looking forward to meeting new people and being in a different country.
Part of the requirement for the Vira Heinz Scholarship is to have never traveled outside of the United States. Since I have not done so, I am really looking forward to traveling to a new and unfamiliar destination.”
Godwin, a psychology major from Bronx, New York, will spend the summer in Adelaide, Australia, studying international health and indigenous cultures, particularly the Aboriginal culture. She is traveling through International Studies Abroad and is most looking forward to interacting with new people.
“Waynesburg has prepared me for this experience by providing me with service learning classes and community engagement activities that are making me more open minded and aware of my surroundings in every environment I plan to delve right into,” said Godwin. “I plan to bring back my knowledge on everything I learned about their indigenous cultures, as well as their natural Australian teachings.”
Narehood, a forensic chemistry major from Frenchville, Pennsylvania, will spend the summer in Luneburg, Germany, and is traveling through the University Study Abroad Consortium. Thrilled to be fulfilling her dream of traveling abroad, Narehood plans to study German culture, language, government and politics.
“I am most looking forward to experiencing the culture and looking deeper into my history,” said Narehood. “In the 1700’s, my ancestors came from Berlin, so I hope to find our more about them. Going into this, my goals are to teach people how to be more open to other cultures as well as learn about my own history, and most importantly to have fun and learn a lot along the way.”
Prettiman, a criminal justice and international cultures double major from North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, will be travelling to Rabat, Morocco, through the Council on International Educational Exchange. While there, she will study the Arabic language and seek to better understand the religion and traditions of Morocco, experiences for which she feels the University has helped prepare her.
“Waynesburg has been very good to me,” said Prettiman. “I have been prepared for study abroad with knowledgeable and worldly professors who teach the importance of diversity. After this experience, I hope to bring tolerance of different religions and traditions to not only this campus but also to the region.”
Valentino, a history secondary education major from Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, plans to spend the summer in Saint Petersburg, Russia, learning the Russian language and studying sociology and history at Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University.
Through the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) Study Abroad Program, she will also travel to a number of places throughout Russia, such as Moscow and Norovgrod, to study the culture.
Bristor said the experience has been shown to be immensely beneficial for students who receive the scholarship.
“I think any time anybody is given the opportunity to go outside the country they benefit tremendously,” said Bristor, “not only in the academic area of whatever they’re studying but through their cultural perspective. Learning about different cultures, learning about women in different cultures, how are women treated – I think that these women when they come back have truly changed. I’ve seen complete transformations from some of the students who have gone on the trip.”