Georgia Southern Students Win Study Abroad Scholarships
Georgia Southern Students Win Study Abroad Scholarships
As thousands of Georgia Southern University students prepare to return to campus for fall classes, three students will pack their bags, explore the world and receive an international education. The trio has been awarded Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarships to study abroad.
Nicole Puckett and Britnee “Jake” Claxton will spend the 2013-14 academic year in Japan at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, and Chari Chin-Young has already started her five-week study abroad experience in France. They are among 18 Georgia Southern students to receive Gilman Scholarships since 2007.
While attending Nagoya University, Puckett and Claxton will take intensive language courses. “I have taken every language course offered by Georgia Southern,” said Claxton, a junior International Studies major. “This trip will help me further my Japanese language education.” Puckett shares the same ambition. “My biggest goal while in Japan for a year is to become fluent in the language,” said Puckett, a junior International Studies major and honors student. “I also want to become better acquainted with the culture and history of Japan, which will help give me a better understanding of the world.”
Chin-Young, a psychology major and McNair Scholar, is excited to take a sociology course in France where she will focus on reading French theorists Jean-Francois Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard and Jacques Lacan. In her research, Chin-Young has explored stereotype threats and mixed-race individuals. She is learning more about minority experiences in France during her time there.
Gilman recipients receive money to support their student abroad trips, and once they return home, each recipient must develop a “Follow-On Project” to encourage students to travel the world and study abroad. Chin-Young’s project will be titled “ENOUGH” based on her research into stereotypes and confronting those stereotypes. She will then share presentations with students at Boys & Girls Clubs.
Claxton will focus on encouraging Georgia Southern students to consider study abroad, especially those who are hesitant because of the cost. She plans to educate these students of the opportunity the Gilman Scholarship offers and the process for applying. She will also make presentations to classes and student organizations and blog during her time in Japan.
Puckett hopes to inspire students to travel and learn more about the world. To increase awareness of geography in high schools, Puckett will return to her hometown schools to talk about her travels, Japan and the benefits of study abroad.
The three students see study abroad preparing them for the challenges and opportunities they will have after graduation. Puckett plans to find work as a translator either for the United Nations or a corporation. “Japan isn’t the end,” explained Puckett. “It’s merely the beginning. There are so many places to go in the world and so many people to talk to that I don’t think there will be any way for me to be satisfied with just one tiny piece of the globe.”
Claxton aspires to become a Japanese language translator, and Chin-Young intends to become a member of the Peace Corps and pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology. “Ultimately, I want to travel and build non-profit organizations that support higher educations for minority and underprivileged children globally,” said Chin-Young. “This study abroad trip is the first stepping stone toward that goal.”
The Center for International Studies houses the Study Abroad office and provides many opportunities for undergraduate students. The University Honors Program advises students in their pursuit of national and international competitive scholarships, provides a small college atmosphere in the context of a large comprehensive university and fosters the development of a critical sense of inquiry, a spirit of creativity, a global perspective and an ethic of civic responsibility.
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