Sept. 24: Summer abroad invites first-generation students

By Steve Nakata, Administrative Services

1st-gen-logoPULLMAN, Wash. – First-generation undergraduate students at Washington State University are invited to study abroad in Costa Rica next summer. An information session will be 3:30-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, in Lighty 260.

The priority application deadline is Nov. 1. Applications will be accepted until Feb. 1 or as long as spots remain available. Find more information at http://facebook.com/groups/1GAbroad.

An information session about the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship to help fund international study will be 10:45 a.m. Friday, Sept. 26, in Avery Hall’s first floor Bundy Reading Room.

Up to 40 first-generation students will have an opportunity to study at Universidad Veritas in Costa Rica’s capital city, San José.

Students are considered to be first-generation when neither parent has attained a four-year college degree.

Study abroad participants will earn eight credits in Spanish and global communication courses, complete a community service project and visit volcanoes, waterfalls and beaches.

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Eva Navarijo, left, talks with students at an earlier information session about the opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica.

“Many first-generation students have never been out of their own state or on a plane before,” said Eva Navarijo, director of WSU’s First Scholars Program. “This is a great opportunity for them to experience life in a different country.”

“This program would really open my eyes to the world outside of elementary education,” said Hannah Schweiter, a WSU senior in elementary education, during a recent information session.

A fashion design student said she would benefit from seeing clothing fashions from outside the U.S. Another said interaction with people from a different culture would be a valuable skill for the workplace.

The cost of the trip is just over $4,000 and includes tuition, lodging, two meals a day and sight-seeing excursions. It does not include airfare.

“Our advisors will be working with students to make sure they seek financial aid and fundraising opportunities,” Navarijo said.

The faculty-led study abroad program is organized by the Office of the Provost, the Office of Access, Equity and Achievement and International Program’s Global Learning as part of WSU’s ongoing commitment to supporting first-generation students.