First-generation college, minority, and community college students comprise 2019 FEA Scholars
Read the full press release here.
WASHINGTON, DC, March 28, 2019 – The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) has increased access to international education by granting a record-breaking 135 scholarships totaling $406,000 to US students consistently underrepresented in study abroad and the introduction of six new dedicated scholarships.
Continuing its history of steady annual growth, this year’s awards reflect a 35% year-over-year increase in the number of scholarships granted, a 22% increase in total dollars, and a 40% increase in the number of dedicated scholarships. Including this year’s recipients, since FEA’s inception in 2010, a total of 425 scholars have benefited from over $1.7 million in scholarships, including minority, LBGTQ+, first-generation and community college students.
The 2019-2020 FEA Scholars come from a variety of racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds and represent 99 higher education institutions across the country. This year, 91% of the students are of minority backgrounds, and 90% are first-generation college students. Additionally, 55% of all the FEA scholars have attended community college now or in the past. This year’s top-sending institutions were the University of Texas at Austin, Howard University, and the University of Florida.
The rise in general and dedicated scholarships has contributed to FEA’s ability to support more students. Dedicated scholarships include regional, demographic-specific and named scholarships and make up 32% of the 2019-2020 FEA Scholar cohort. New this year are the FEA Alumni Scholarship, The A. Rewari Family Scholarship for Study Abroad in Denmark, the Jan Kieling Rainbow Scholarship for students who self-identify as LGBTQ+, the Malú Alvarez Global Access Scholarship, the NAFSA Tamara H. Bryant Memorial Scholarship for African-American students studying abroad, and the South India Term Abroad (SITA) Nallennam Scholarship for students studying abroad in India.
“FEA offers a meaningful legacy opportunity for individuals and organizations to name, honor others, or otherwise brand scholarships for study abroad,” said FEA Executive Director Jennifer Calvert. “In this way, people who were transformed by their own international experience are able to pay it forward to promising students who would not otherwise study abroad.”
The 2019 FEA scholarship recipients were selected from a pool of over 2,300 applicants representing approximately 517 colleges and universities across the country. A team of 138 volunteer reviewers individually read and reviewed each application.
The recipients of this year’s dedicated scholarships are:
The FEA Alumni Scholarship:
The A. Rewari Family Scholarship for Study Abroad in Denmark:
The Artigas-Etchegaray Family Scholarship:
The BASAA Scholarship:
The Calvert Family Scholarship:
The Greater DC Area Scholarship:
- Amanda Chu
- Felix Gonzalez
- Alan Ibarra
- Kashya Johnson
- Tatiyana Lewis
- Sonali Mirpuri
- Tanesha Mondestin
The Gugel-McPherson Family Scholarship:
The Jan Kieling Rainbow Scholarship:
The Malú Alvarez Global Access Scholarship:
The Martha and Jeff Johnson Scholarship:
The NAFSA Tamara H. Bryant Memorial Scholarship:
- Sabian Chalmers
- Ashlyn Denson
- Tayla Gaines
- Brian Gyamfi
- Ashley Jones
- Kourtney King
- Faith Lewis
- Dimetri Lyons
- Kaevyn Maple
- Darayon Moore
- Darius Moore
The Rainbow Scholarship:
The Simpson Sisters’ Scholarship:
The South India Term Abroad (SITA) Nallennam Scholarship:
The Steckley-Weitzel Family Scholarship:
Working to change the face of study abroad to better reflect the rich diversity of the US population, FEA funds scholarships of up to $10,000 for study abroad, enabling students to study across the globe for a minimum of four weeks to a full academic year. A full list of the 2019-2020 FEA Scholars can be found on the FEA website.
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About the Fund for Education Abroad
The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) is a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to provide scholarships and ongoing support to students who are underrepresented among the US study abroad population. FEA makes life-changing, international education experiences accessible to all by supporting minority, community college and first-generation college students before, during, and after they participate in education abroad programs. FEA is a Guidestar Platinum participant, and won the 2015 Diversity Abroad Excellence in Diversifying International Education Award and GoAbroad.com’s 2015 Innovation in Philanthropy Award. Follow FEA at www.fundforeducationabroad.org, and on Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr and on Twitter: @FEAScholarships.