Madelyn Beacham

"The only guarantee you won't win something is if you don't apply," the University of North Georgia (UNG) alumna said.

The philosophy has paid off. In spring 2018, Beacham won the David L. Boren Scholarship. It paid up to $20,000 for her to study Arabic for six months in Jordan and live with a host family.

"It gave me an intimate look at life there," she said. "I felt like a member of the family."

Upon her return in spring 2019, she applied for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, a nationally competitive award that provides up to $30,000 for undergraduate students to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in government or public service. She didn't win. Instead, she completed an internship with an international resettlement agency in Atlanta in summer 2019.

"I'm so glad I didn't get the Truman, because I wouldn't have done the internship, which was the right thing for me," said the 22-year-old from McDonough, Georgia.

That summer, Beacham applied for two more scholarships: the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) program and the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. CLS provides funds for American undergraduate and graduate students to complete intensive language study abroad programs in the summer. The Fulbright enables college graduates to pursue research activities, become English Teaching Assistants, or enroll in graduate school.

Beacham was selected as an alternate for the CLS in January 2020. Three months later, she became a Fulbright finalist and made UNG history. The December 2019 graduate with a degree in international affairs was the first from UNG to win a Fulbright for graduate school.

Beacham said she plans to pursue a master's degree in international relations in Turkey while she researches education strategies for young adult refugees. She expects to start classes in fall 2020, depending on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I will start school in the fall, but it may be online," she said.