Kindra Wyatt ’14 Wins Prestigious Study Abroad Scholarship

Kindra Wyatt ’14 Wins Prestigious Study Abroad Scholarship

Accolades and Awards, Study Abroad

October 25, 2014

Kindra Wyatt ’14 Wins Prestigious Study Abroad Scholarship Kindra Wyatt

Hollins University sophomore Kindra Wyatt has been named the winner of a $10,000 award from the Fund for Education Abroad’s Hiliary Echo Douglas Memorial Scholarship to study in India during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Wyatt, who resides in Salem, Virginia, is among just 11 students selected from a pool of 224 applicants representing over 190 U. S. colleges and universities to receive an award, and is the only student to receive $10,000, the highest award given. Scholarships are granted with a preference for underrepresented students in study abroad programs, including minorities, science and technology majors, community college students, and those choosing to study in non-traditional countries.

The scholarship was established in memory of Hiliary Echo Douglas, who graduated from the University of Evansville in 1999 and then traveled to Vietnam on a Fulbright Scholarship. She subsequently worked for various international cultural collaborations in Vietnam and later served there with CET Academic Programs, a study abroad organization that offers semester and summer programs in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Douglas died in 2008.

“This scholarship is given to a student who demonstrates Hiliary’s love of other cultures, her desire to give back to the world community, and her contagious love of life. Kindra fits this mold like a glove,” said Kirsten McKinney, Hollins’ director of international programs. “We are very proud to have assisted her in her quest to make her dream of studying in India come true.”

Founded in 2010 and based in Washington, D.C., the Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) seeks to increase opportunities for U.S. students to participate in high-quality, rigorous education abroad programs by reducing financial restrictions through the provision of grants and scholarships. FEA’s goals include assisting students in the acquisition of critical foreign language skills and cultivating U.S. students’ world awareness and appreciation of cultural differences through academic and experiential opportunities.