Give to Appalachian | Appalachian Today

Senior Alaine Munn, on a bridge in Prague, Czech Republic.

International travel can be an awe-inspiring, life-changing experience. And in today’s workforce, it can boost students’ marketability with employers.

A group of Appalachian State University students value their travel and study abroad experiences so much they want to ensure their peers have the same opportunity, regardless of family income. That’s why they’ve created the Go Abroad: International Appalachian Scholarship, Appalachian’s first travel abroad scholarship.

The scholarship will be awarded each year to four students beginning in 2010. It will be open to all majors for study in the country of their choice.

“From being able to travel growing up, I had a lot of different experiences in my life and it gave me a more open mind about the world. You realize the world is bigger than just North Carolina,” said Spanish and public relations major Alaine Munn, who in addition to family trips to various countries spent the 2007-08 academic year studying in Spain.

Her friend Kim Howell agrees. “Everyone should be given the opportunity to study abroad, regardless of their financial background.  It’s important that students experience other cultures. That’s hard if you’re worrying about how to finance travel and study,” said Howell, who is majoring in anthropology and public history. She traveled extensively in high school and will go to Wales this summer with Appalachian.

Both young women are officers in the student group INTAPP (International Appalachian), which had been trying for more than a year to establish an international scholarship. When she joined the group last fall, Munn volunteered to renew the group’s efforts. With a major gift from her grandfather, Paul Broyhill, the scholarship became a reality.  Additional funds are needed before the scholarship can be awarded, so the students are working with the Appalachian State University Foundation Inc. to solicit annual gifts from alumni and friends who have traveled abroad or who support international travel.

“I encourage every student to travel or study abroad for a summer, a semester or a year. It’s a great experience,” said Munn, who is from Chapel Hill.  “I’m more aware of concerns or problems of people in other countries by having spent time in their culture.”

For that very reason, international education has been a major emphasis at Appalachian for many years. It more fully prepares young people for successful lives and careers, especially as the global community has become more interconnected.

The university has 41 institutional partnerships in more than 17 countries, but students don’t have to leave Boone to experience other cultures. Appalachian has 81 international students, 100 international faculty on campus, and a variety of international-related programming.

“I applaud INTAPP’s initiative to establish a new study abroad scholarship for our students,” said Jesse Lutabingwa, associate vice chancellor for international education and development. “We are encouraging more and more of our students to study abroad as part of their educational experience at Appalachian, but we don’t have much to offer them in terms of financial support. This scholarship program will provide the needed financial support to allow students seeking to study abroad to do so.”

INTAPP is a student group founded in 2005. Its members work to bring more international students to Appalachian, encourage more Appalachian students to study abroad, and promote interaction between international students and American students, while also promoting internationalization at Appalachian.

Howell, who is from Shallotte, N.C., and hopes to someday earn a PhD in Judaic studies, said INTAPP has enriched her life and that of other students. Its activities have included a weekly International Coffee Hour, the fall International Café in which students prepare and serve ethnic food, and the annual International Ball. The scholarship will simply expand INTAPP’s outreach and influence.

“I hope this scholarship gives future students the opportunity to create their own opportunities. I believe this scholarship is a wonderful way to help ease someone’s financial burden while enriching their life at the same time,” she said.

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