Travel

To a Flinn Scholar, education entails more than textbooks and lectures. It means studying ancient Egyptian history at the base of pyramid Cheops, learning Russian while living in Moscow, or assisting AIDS patients in Kenya. It means transcending the traditional limits by extending the classroom to the farthest reaches of the planet.

It means getting a head start on life.

Each year, a class of Flinn Scholars travels to Eastern Europe to participate in a three-week intensive seminar on democratization issues. But that is just the beginning. Each Scholar is also given a stipend for at least one further international adventure on their own. Most choose summer travel experiences, though many have spent a semester or even a year in residence at a foreign university, availing themselves of programs that cannot be found in the United States.

Flinn Scholars have visited every continent except Antarctica (anyone interested?) on programs ranging from medicine to language and culture, and from politics to environmental protection. Many have coupled their Flinn travel award with other travel grants.

Some Scholars travel to engage in unique research and service opportunities abroad germane to their major or career goals. Amy Shem conducted research at the famous Pasteur Institute in Paris. As a sophomore, Ajit Itty undertook a semester's neurological research at Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford. Mandy Redig studied literature and politics at University of St. Andrews, Scotland, then spent a summer teaching English to young adults in Poland. And as a junior, Tina Wu, an aspiring physician and public health advocate, coordinated volunteer teams for the Global Service Corps, serving hospitals and rural clinics in Tanzania.

The travels afford the Scholars a head start in today's increasingly global marketplace. They return home with practical experience living in a foreign culture, relying on a language other than their own. They take advantage of targeted programs that cannot be found in the United States. And they develop a broadened perspective of the world--and their place in it.