Abigail Sutherland, right, is a Freeman Awards for Study in Asia (Freeman-ASIA) scholarship winner, and Anabella Miranda, left, received a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.
Article By: Denise Ray
Two University of North Georgia (UNG) students were selected for nationally competitive scholarships that will allow them to study abroad. These extremely competitive scholarships are considered some of the most prestigious merit-based awards in the country.
Abigail Sutherland is UNG's latest recipient of a Freeman Awards for Study in Asia (Freeman-ASIA) scholarship winner. The program grants awards of up to $5,000 for students who demonstrate financial need to fulfill their plans of study abroad in Asia.
"The Freeman-ASIA scholarship is a great opportunity for students interested in Asia,” Dr. Victoria Hightower, assistant director of the Nationally Competitive Scholarships office, said. "For Abigail, Freeman-ASIA gives her the opportunity to fulfill her major requirements while allowing her to build upon the Korean cultural and linguistic knowledge that she has acquired from UNG. It will open doors for her in the public and private sector, and she will be more competitive for jobs that require cultural knowledge. We are proud of her achievement.”
Sutherland is a junior from Simi Valley, California, pursuing a degree in East Asian studies with a concentration in Korean. She will head to Ewha Women's University in Seoul, South Korea. Her interest in South Korea began with its music and has expanded.
For Abigail, Freeman-ASIA gives her the opportunity to fulfill her major requirements while allowing her to build upon the Korean cultural and linguistic knowledge that she has acquired from UNG. It will open doors for her in the public and private sector, and she will be more competitive for jobs that require cultural knowledge.
Dr. Victoria Hightower
UNG assistant director of the Nationally Competitive Scholarships office
"As time went on, I wanted to learn the language and the culture," Sutherland said. "Now that I've been like taking classes, I've really fallen in love with all of it."
Sutherland said she is looking forward to reuniting with Korean friends who recently studied at UNG, seeing the cherry blossoms and getting a feel for Korean culture.
"I hope my experience in South Korea will help me determine what I want to do with my degree and for a career," she said. "Right now, I think I want to move there to teach English, but I don't know what life is like there."
In addition, Anabella Miranda received a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, having previously been named an alternate.
Providing up to $8,000, the nationally competitive scholarship enables U.S. undergraduate students who are eligible for the Pell Grant to study or intern abroad and gain skills critical to national security and economic competitiveness.
Miranda is a senior from Cumming, Georgia, pursuing a degree in history with a minor in art history.
She took an upper-level history class through the USG Goes Global study abroad program led by Dr. Dave Nelson, a professor of history at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. With USG Goes Global, Courses are taught by faculty from across the USG and blend classroom learning with experiential learning as students earn academic credit in another country.
"Classwork and assignments consisted of on-site lectures held on old ruins or castles we were visiting that day. We had assignments to complete during castle tours and once we did, we had time to explore," Miranda said.
Now back, Miranda plans to apply to the graduate program at Edinburgh.
