Student study-abroad awards announced

Fifty University of Wisconsin–Madison students have been awarded prestigious study-abroad scholarships, the Division of International Studies' International Academic Programs (IAP) announced.

The awards, totaling nearly $80,000, have been made possible in large part through gifts by UW–Madison alumni, faculty, staff and friends.

"In an interconnected and interdependent world, graduating globally minded citizens and professionals is critical for our economy and national security," says Gilles Bousquet, dean of International Studies. "We're very pleased to be able to make the transformative experience of study abroad possible for increasing numbers of our students."

According to Bousquet, about 50 percent of UW–Madison first-year students say they would like to study abroad but only about 16 percent do so by graduation.

The students will be honored at a study abroad scholarship awards ceremony at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24, in the Memorial Union Main Lounge. The event is by invitation.

UW-Madison's schools and colleges offer more than 150 different study-abroad programs around the world, and the campus as a whole is highly ranked among research institutions in study abroad nationally. More than half of the university's programs are offered through IAP.

Fifteen students will receive Chou Kuo-Ping awards, named after the UW–Madison faculty member who taught Chinese language courses on campus in the mid-1960s and who arranged for her students to study abroad in Taiwan. The scholarships have been made possible by one of those students, Tom Sternberg, now an insurance executive in White Plains, NY. His gift to the UW Foundation in Chou's honor goes toward study abroad in China (including Hong Kong) or Taiwan. This year's award recipients will study abroad in Beijing and Tianjin.

Seven students will receive Pritzker Pucker Awards for yearlong study in one of the UW–Madison's overseas programs. The students will study in Japan, China, India and Senegal. The scholarships were made possible by Gigi Pritzker Pucker, an alumna of the UW–Madison's Nepal study-abroad program, on behalf of the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation.

"The UW–Madison Nepal Program changed my life in so many ways," Pritzker Pucker says. "The impact has been lifelong, and I am so pleased to be able to help other students have this experience."

Other students will receive awards through the Cyril W. Nave Fund for Latin American Research; the Joe Elder Awards, named in honor of the UW–Madison professor who has led the College Year in India program virtually since its inception in 1961; the Laurent Karim Makward Memorial Scholarship, named after the son of UW–Madison emeritus professor Edris Makward and Christiane P. Makward, professor of French and Francophone studies at Penn State University; the Julie and Michael Gerend Study Abroad Fund; and Study Abroad Alumni Awards, made possible through contributions from UW–Madison alumni and friends of study-abroad programs.

"Exposure to cultures abroad is the greatest life experience," say Julie and Michael Gerend. Julie was an Evans Scholar at UW–Madison and participated in the Florence study-abroad program in her junior year. The couple made the contribution to encourage UW–Madison students to pursue an international academic challenge.

The awards, ranging from $500-$4,000, were made based on a combination of factors, including financial need, demonstrated academic excellence and the nature of the academic program proposed for the time spent abroad.

Twenty students receiving Study Abroad Alumni Awards are Philip Creswell, Naomi Crocker, Laura Frank, Kassandra Grimm, Steven Jacowski, Ross Kirsling, Andrew Kukowski, Spencer Lemiesz, Heather Magers Keefe, Marc Montrose, Jessica Pope, Ilirijan Residovski, Elizabeth Schaefer, Nicolas Schaub, Tyler Schmidt, Brittany Shimek, Alice Smith, Tracy Smith, Kathleen Thomas and Gabriel Woytek.

Fifteen students receiving Chou Kuo-Ping Awards are Stephanie Blair, Krista Bollig, Theresa Brennan, Amanda Byrd, Philip Charboneau, Sarah Dehlinger, Kylie Engle, Theodore Feierstein, Megan Fliegel, Katie Ginther, Cindy Kaminski, Kaitlin Schalow, Eric Schuchardt, Laura Skala and Peter Tierney.

Seven students receiving Pritzker Pucker awards are Bowen Casey, Stephanie Dorman, Andrew Kukowski, Donovan McClain, Kathleen Sellers, Catherine Skroch and Benjamin Voss.

Megan Attridge, Brian Busha, Brenda Lazarus, Margaret Presley and Bradley Schmock received Joe Elder Awards.

Susan Kooiman, Alice McCarthy and Francie Phelps received Nave Awards.

Amanda Milford received a Gerend Award. Heather Magers Keefe received a Makward Award.