Last month, ISEP awarded 10 ISEP Community Scholarships to ISEP students from around the world who will study abroad for a semester or full year starting this Fall 2018.
The ISEP Community Scholarship assists students from ISEP Member Institutions with a demonstrated financial need in making their goals to study abroad a reality. The awards support our mission to extend access and affordability of study abroad by encouraging applications from students who are statistically underrepresented in study abroad. Each ISEP Community Scholarship awardee will receive US$500 to use while studying abroad.
Get to know more about each of the ISEP Community Scholarship winners!
Fatima Attoumani from Université de Lille 3 will study abroad at Colorado Mesa University in Colorado, United States.
“I was born in the French island Mayotte, between Madagascar and East Africa, in the Mozambique Channel. When I was a child I became aware that I was treated differently from metropolitan French citizens in terms of access to education, cultural capital, and opportunities to discover the world. For example, I did not have access to a computer at home until I was in high school. I am the first person in my family to attend a university and to have the chance to study abroad. I strongly believe my community needs role models. The ISEP Community Scholarship is important to me because the less I will be anxious about financial need, the more I will succeed. ISEP aims to give students the opportunity to study in exemplary universities. I am honored to be part of that community, which values cultural exchange, enrichment of one’s language and serving underprivileged students.”
Alison Landrum from Missouri State University will study abroad at Université de Franche-Comté in France.
“Bonjour- I am a student at Missouri State University and soon-to-be student at the Université de Franche-Comté in France! With my degree program of Geography with an emphasis in Geotourism, as well as my declared minors Sustainability and French, my dream is to provide education, sustainable development, and encourage cultural diversity and heritage in all communities. My purpose for pursuing an international experience is cultural immersion and continuing my education in the French language (my native language is English). And I must say, I’ve come a long way from my incredibly shy self, moving around every few years in my military family. I have become accustomed to change and meeting new people, and I have especially learned that we must make this life great for everyone we can reach! Therefore, I am so excited for the opportunity to study internationally and am incredibly thankful to ISEP.”
Jadesola Moronwiyan from Nottingham Trent University will study abroad at Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics (JUFE) in China.
“I grew up in a small village in England. However, I live not too far from the city of London, where there are different ethnic communities. This includes a large African community which is important to my family since we are of Nigerian descent. Therefore, I have been exposed to many cultures and languages. In school, I developed an interest in China and their impact on the world economic system. So, I took up extra classes to study Mandarin. I was exposed to the rich culture and history of China. I will continue to learn Mandarin alongside my degree of International Law. I will be spending my year abroad in China to take my language skills to the next level. I will also be taking classes in subjects such as international trade, business and economics. I look forward to learning how international issues are viewed from another perspective.”
Aranza Obscura from Texas A&M International University will study abroad at Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany.
“As a Hispanic living in a border town, I have experienced distinct environments wherein different cultures intertwined; allowing me to become bilingual and gain much cultural knowledge. My diverse background prompted my interest for cultural diversity and has motivated me to learn German during my year term abroad in Germany. I am beyond eager to immerse myself in a wholly different environment and acquire life-long skills. Moreover, my endeavors have been inspired by the need to make my parents proud and thank them for giving me the opportunity of studying in the U.S. As a first-generation college student, I am determined to make the most out of my collegiate experience. In spite of the financial problems I have encountered along the way in trying to fund my studies and ambitions such as studying abroad, my academic resolutions have guided me step by step. My time abroad will surely allow me to discover my interests further and give me a chance to bring back an interesting story to my community.”
Hannah Parrish from Northern Arizona University will study abroad for one year at Université de Caen in France.
“I have been committed to my studies of the French language for the past six years, both at my high school as well as at my home institution, Northern Arizona University. This opportunity to study abroad at the Université de Caen is a means for immersion, proficiency, and fluency which I have been looking forward to since the day I began studying French. I have spent the entirety of my two decades in Arizona, and I am currently pursuing my B.S. in Elementary Education as well as my B.A. in French. In my time abroad I hope to not only polish my speaking and writing skills, but also to garner skills which will aid my professional goals and help me to be the best teacher I can for my future students, whether that is in the States or abroad.”
Steffen Schürmann from Technische Universität Dortmund will study abroad at University of Vermont in Vermont, United States.
“I was born into a family of roofers in the region Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany. Male persons in my family worked in the family business right after finishing school. Nonetheless I decided to do my Abitur and started studying Civil Engineering, both as the first person in my family. Thus not everyone agreed with my opinion and tried to convince me to work instead of studying. Relying on a family business I had to work a lot to finance my study and still finished my bachelor’s degree. Now I am in my master’s degree and started working in my professor’s engineering office to gain practical experience. During my semester abroad I will widen out my knowledge in courses of Steel Structures, Geo-energy Systems and Transportation Systems. Additionally I want to be part of music and sport clubs with native people. Summing up I look forward to a personal achievement in self-confidence and the English language in order to success in my future goal as a leader in a global acting engineering company.”
Fatma Sen from Bielefeld University will study abroad at University of Vermont in Vermont, United States.
“I grew up in a small city in Germany and was always surrounded by friends with multicultural backgrounds. This was the source of my love for languages and the cultures and history they reflect. Growing up bilingually was not enough for me, which is why I ended up taking French and Spanish courses in school to satisfy my curiosity. Today, I speak five languages and am studying English and Social Studies at University. Moreover, I am an aspiring teacher who wants to convey their love for the subjects to their students. Being the oldest daughter of a working-class family, I never imagined exploring the world on my own. Nonetheless, I have never felt discouraged by any obstacles. Instead, I found encouragement from lecturers and teachers who supported me throughout my journey.”
Léa Esnault from Université de Lille 3 will study abroad at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania, United States.
“My native language is French, and I began to study English seven years ago. Even if I started to learn it many years ago, I still have a long way to go before being fluent. Indeed, this year I have only had one course in English and not many occasions to speak with native English speakers. While I am at Mansfield University, in the USA, all my courses will be in English so it will certainly allow me to progress faster. At my home University, Université de Lille 3, I study both linguistics and teaching, but my major is linguistics. At Mansfield University, I will take a few linguistics courses in relation with linguistics, but I am really eager to take preliminary education courses too as I want to become a preliminary education teacher and would like to be able to teach kids English.”
Robin Wadl from Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz will study abroad for one year at Chukyo University in Japan.
“All my life I have been dedicated to sports especially artistic gymnastics, which I started when I was only 5 years old. I was a high-performance gymnast for 12 years and attended 3 European Championships. In 2013, I started working as a coach at the local gymnastics club in Austria. With Japan being one of the leading nations in this sport, I am eager to learn from the best. I am studying sports science in the bachelor’s program and also the teacher’s degree program in the subjects of physical education & sports and catholic religion. Chukyo University fits both my interests, sports and the Japanese language. I am interested in participating in courses such as sports management, sports ethics and Japanese language courses. Furthermore, Chukyo has its own university gymnastic club and a significant number of students will be participating in the 2020 Summer Olympics.”
Simone Dreher from Louisiana State University will study abroad at Philipps Universitat Marburg in Germany.
“Studying abroad will give me the chance to be immersed in the German culture and language. My goal is to one day do graduate Anthropological research in cancer, preferably doing so in Germany and Austria. Studying at the University of Marburg will not only give me the opportunity to learn the German language in a great environment, but it also gives me the chance to live in a more handicap accessible city. Throughout my life I have had to face many challenges being Puerto Rican, African American, physically handicapped and a product of a single parent home. My physical handicap is seen as a set back and something that makes me lesser. When I tell people that I want to travel to Germany and Austria to research the cultural effect of cancer they laugh. At first this discouraged me, but it soon became the driving force behind my determination to achieve this goal. I hope that by experiencing this freedom I can also bring back ways to improve my own community for those who also suffer from a disability.”
Like this Story? Also like us on Facebook.