posted on April 23: Travel Scholarships Open New Vistas
Asim Alam (Hons. Arts & Science) and Bernice Cheung (Commerce) are the recipients of the John P. Evans Travel Scholarship.
Alam will travel to Dehradun, India as a team member of the Overseas Research Project, a project of the University's Student International Health Initiative (SIHI). During May and June, the team will gather information on health practices and perspectives in rural villages in the Tehri Garwal region.
Cheung, who currently speaks English and Cantonese, plans to study Mandarin in Beijing during the summer in pursuit of her goal to become multi-lingual. The John P. Evans Travel Scholarship ($1,000) is awarded to a student who has completed at least 30 units beyond Level 1 of an Honours program and has demonstrated a scholarly interest in Asian languages, history or cultures.
Sarah Huang (Hons. Modern Language & Linguistics) and Roxanne Lai (Hons. Linguistics) are the recipients of the A. G. Alexander Travel Scholarship ($5,500 each), which offers students an opportunity to study outside Canada during the twelve months prior to their final Fall/Winter session.
Huang, who has been studying Spanish and Russian, will travel to Leeds University to obtain the credits in Russian that she needs in order to complete her degree.
Lai will be honing her fluency in French while living in France for the year. While there, she also hopes to volunteer with Midecins Sans Frontihres (Doctors Without Borders).
Leah Sheehan (Hons. French, Prog.A), who is the winner of the Beale Lincoln Hall Travel Scholarship ($2.200), plans to immerse herself in the French language and culture while studying in Lyon. This scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates high academic standing and a lively interest in the humanities.
Four students will benefit from the Maria Chan Scholarships for International Studies in Business ($2,000 each). The scholarships are awarded to students in the School of Business who wish to pursue academic studies abroad and who are participating in one of McMaster's formal exchange programs.
Christopher Curtis, who is interested in international business, will be going to England. Rochelle Henry hopes to improve her language skills by studying in either Mexico or France. Lindsay McLeod wants to gain a better understanding of the international business environment, particularly the European Union, while studying in one of the Scandinavian countries. Gary Lai believes the Asian economy will become an important global economic force in the future and wants to immerse himself in the culture of the area while studying in Singapore.
Carolyn Veldstra (Hons. English) is the recipient of the Joan Jackson Dunbar Travel Scholarship ($3,500), awarded to a female student who has excelled in an Honours Program in English. She plans to take courses at either Birmingham or Cambridge University, focusing on the field of cultural studies, particularly literary and cultural theory.
Katerine Lutran (Hons. Classics) has won the E. T. Salmon Scholarship ($2,000) and plans to travel to Greece and Rome to immerse herself first hand in their art, architecture, history and culture. The scholarship is awarded to a student in any Honours Classics or History program who demonstrates outstanding achievement and promise.
Leah Layman-Pleet (Hons. Biology, Complementary Studies) and David MacKenzie (Hons. A&S & Multimedia) have each been awarded a Russell T. Wilkins Travel Scholarship ($6,000).
Layman-Pleet will travel to Lake Baikal in Siberia to attend a field school in mortuary archaeology that is studying prehistoric hunter-gatherers who lived in the area.
While in India, MacKenzie plans to locate resources unavailable in North America to assist in his study of Indian post-colonial literature, as well as meet writers and journalists. This scholarship is awarded to a student entering the penultimate level of an Honours program in Arts & Sciences, Health Sciences or Science, who demonstrates outstanding academic achievement and an interest in the humanities and human/social implications of scientific developments.
In 1989, the Class of '37 established a travel scholarship in celebration of its 50th anniversary. The award is given to a student who demonstrates an interest in developing countries. The recipient of this year's Class of '37 Travel Scholarship ($900) is Eileen Nicolle (Hons. Arts & Science). Nicolle, who volunteered as a teacher in El Salvador in 2000, will be returning to the village of San Antonio Los Ranchos. She will assist with the implementation of a project designed to empower the villagers, particularly the women and youth, to assume more control over their lives.
The purpose of these monetary awards, awarded annually, is to offer undergraduate students an opportunity to enhance their educational experience through travel.
