Studying abroad offers students the opportunity to experience a new culture through coursework, exploration, and personal growth. A study abroad experience is a life-changing event that helps expand a student’s worldview, deepen language competence, increase self-reliance, shape character, and develop personal interests.
Division of International Studies and International Academic Programs hosted the 2010 Study Abroad Scholarship Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 6, 2010. Gifts from a number of different scholarship funds were awarded to more than 40 students for study around the world. Generous alumni and friends of the Division have made several gifts possible. The awards are made based on a combination of factors, including financial need, demonstrated academic excellence, and the nature of the academic program.
View the slideshow and a video from the event below!
Watch a video of study abroad alum Ed Wallace discuss what the Joe Elder Study Abroad Scholarship to study in Varanasi, India did for him (apologies for the hand-held camera!):
Learn more about the generous gifts from alumni and friends:
The Cerk Family Fund for Study Abroad was established by Norman J. and Heewon B. Cerk. Mr. Cerk went abroad as a student at UW–Madison and found the experience to be fulfilling and a factor in the success he has achieved in his life’s work. He graduated from UW–Madison in 1994 with a BA in political science. The purpose of this fund is to assist undergraduate students by funding their study abroad experiences at UW–Madison.
The Chou Kuo-ping Awards are named for the UW faculty member who taught Chinese language courses on campus in the mid-1960s and organized opportunities for her students to study abroad in Taiwan. One of those students, Tom Sternberg, now an insurance executive in White Plains, New York, has donated a gift in Miss Chou’s honor toward study abroad in Chinese-speaking countries.
The Count Giovanni Guicciardini Corsi Salviati Memorial Scholarship was named to honor the Italian nobleman, who generously created a trust giving
the use of his villa to the students of UW–Madison’s Florence programs for 25 years. In this way, he believed that his family home would continue to be the center of a vibrant cultural and intellectual life.
The Cyril W. Nave Fund for Latin American Research was established in 1976 by Cyril Winton Nave, a 1918 UW–Madison graduate, later the founder and director of the Atlantic Refining Company. The Nave Fund provides funding for faculty research in Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, for visiting scholars from these regions, and lectures on Latin American issues.
The Elizabeth Ann Garden Memorial Scholarship was established by Lori Chozen to honor her friend Elizabeth Ann Garden by providing need-based scholarships for students to study abroad in Spain. Although this is a need-based scholarship, it is extremely important that the selected student have a passion for languages, a love of learning, a desire for exploration, and a thirst for independence, all of which are qualities that Elizabeth possessed.
The Joe Elder Awards are named for Professor Elder, who has served as the academic director of the UW–Madison College Year in India program, virtually since its inception in 1961. He mentored hundreds of students through his dedication to study abroad in this and other programs. Alumni, colleagues, and friends made donations for a scholarship in his name, to be awarded to outstanding students participating in one of the UW–Madison academic programs abroad.
The Julie and Michael Gerend Study Abroad Fund is made possible by a 2005 gift from these alumni. Julie was an Evans Scholar at Madison and participated on a program to Florence in her junior year. Michael completed an MBA at UW and, like Julie, has long believed in the value of study abroad. Now both successful professionals in the business world, they made this contribution to encourage future Evans Scholars, and all UW students, to pursue the same sort of international challenges.
The Kikkoman Corporation Study Abroad Scholarship was generously funded by Kikkoman Foods, Inc., a soy sauce production facility, that was established in Walworth, Wisconsin in March 1972. This is the first study abroad scholarship award made possible by Kikkoman Foods, Inc.
The Laurent Karim Makward Memorial Scholarship was named for the son of professor Christiane Makward of the Department of French, Pennsylvania State University and Edris Makward, UW-Madison professor emeritus of African Languages and Literature and French. Laurent was a student on the UW–Madison program in Aix-en-Provence in 1981-1982. In 1983, he died in a tragic mishap in France. Laurent’s family and friends established a scholarship in his name, to be awarded to an outstanding student who is participating in one of the UW–Madison academic programs abroad.
The Marie-José Bussenius Scholarship was named after the late Marie-José Bussenius who served as the local program assistant from the earliest days of the Aix-en-Provence program. “Madame Bussenieus,” as she was known to generations of students who studied in Aix, brought great warmth and charm—as well as a command of all matters practical—to each, often bewildered, class of newly arrived students. The scholarship that bears her name honors her legacy of dedication to the program and its students.
The Rothschild Study Abroad Scholarship was made possible by the Chicago chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association for study abroad scholarships in honor of Robert “Bob” L. Rothschild, a 1932 UW–Madison graduate who spent his career in the publishing industry.
The Study Abroad Alumni Scholarship comes through generous contributions from committed UW alumni and friends of study abroad programs. Gifts to the Study Abroad Fund provide direct assistance toward increasing the number and diversity of students studying overseas.