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WASHINGTON, D.C., November 4, 2021 – The Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) has increased access to international education by offering 39 flexible scholarships totaling more than $195,000 for study abroad in spring 2022 to students traditionally underrepresented in study abroad.
Including this new cohort, a total of 744 scholars, including students of color, first-generation college and community college students, have benefited from close to $2.4 million in scholarships granted since FEA’s inception in 2010. The newly awarded FEA scholarships are flexible, an innovation introduced in spring 2020 in response to the disruption in higher education and travel triggered by the global pandemic.
This application cycle, 95% of awarded scholars identify as students of color: 8% Middle Eastern or North African, 21% Black/African-American, 10% Asian/South Asian, 35% Hispanic/Latinx, and 15% identified as mixed race. Additionally, 38% of these FEA scholars identify as LGBTQ+. Characteristic of FEA scholars, 90% are first-generation college students, and 34% are current or former community college students.
“The resilience and enthusiasm of our new FEA scholars gives hope that the world is reopening and opportunities for advancement and connection are resuming robustly,” said FEA Executive Director Angela Schaffer.
FEA awards many different types of scholarships, including Named Scholarships that are funded by specific donors, Designated Scholarships that are destination- or demographic-specific, and Access Partner Scholarships. FEA Access Partners engage in the mission of the organization through annual support towards co-branded and allocated scholarships, and they participate on the Access Advisory Board, providing critical leadership-level feedback to FEA.
The newly named FEA Scholars, including their home university and planned study abroad destination, are:
- Alondra Graham Hernandez – Santa Barbara City College – Italy
- Ana Hernandez – Santa Barbara City College – Italy
- Abiola Ogunkoya – University of Virginia – Denmark
- Eden Tesfay – University of Notre Dame – South Africa
- Abigail Cumberbatch – Brandeis University – South Africa
- Mumtas Mohamed – University of St. Thomas MN – United Kingdom
- Belize Iteriteka – Bates College – Sweden, Ireland
- Folly Folivi – Denison University – Japan
- Innocent Nsengiyumva – Concordia College – Cuba
- Kadietwo Fahnbulleh – Western Kentucky University – South Korea
- Ann Nguyen – University of Florida – Italy
- Julie Nguyen – California State University, Fresno – South Korea
- Troy Gladstone – University of Connecticut – Ireland
- Alondra Velazquez – Lake Forest College – Costa Rica
- Noemi Guzman – College of Saint Benedict – United Kingdom
- Melany Montesdeoca – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – Spain
- Naomi Sanchez – The University of Texas at Austin – Spain
- Nicole Ramirez – Hamilton College – France
- Luz Alfaro – Grinnell College – India, South Africa, Jordan
- Joelette Organista – University of Utah – Portugal
- Megan Staudt – University of Connecticut – Hungary
- Nadine El Maalem – Rowan University – Morocco
- Pegah Shadalo – University of Utah – Switzerland
- Gabrielle Charney Di Bernardo – Chapman University – France
- David Barbier Jr – Syracuse University – Japan
- Mariah Roseboro – University of North Carolina at Charlotte – South Korea
- Cailyn Matthews – Gustavus Adolphus College – Vietnam
- Reshan Selvavelautham – Vassar College – Singapore
- Lucky Whitburn-Thomas – San Francisco State University – Denmark
- Makenzie Kuykendall – University of Idaho – United Kingdom
- Taylor Kim – University of California Los Angeles – Japan
- Jacob Lively – University of Houston – United Kingdom
- Arisley Rodriguez – University of Florida – United Kingdom
- Brian Vislar – University of Texas at El Paso – France
- Ingrid Valladares – University of Maryland, College Park – Japan
- Ruth Solano-Cardel – Arizona State University
- Maria Alcaraz Vargas – California State Polytechnic University, Pomona – Germany
- Isis Exum – San Diego State University – Italy
- Ashley Messier – University of Massachusetts Amherst – Denmark
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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 U.S. study abroad population, making life-changing, international experiences accessible to all by supporting students of color and first-generation college students before, during, and after they participate in education abroad programs. FEA Access Partners participate on the FEA Access Advisory Board (AAB), established to share best practices in international education and actively engage in FEA’s mission to increase the number of Americans studying abroad. FEA is a Guidestar Gold participant, and won the 2019 Scholarship Provider of the Year Award from the National Scholarship Providers Association, 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.