Students Win Scholarships for Summer Program in Southeast Asia

Posted on July 7, 2006

Twenty-five rising sophomores at Carolina have been awarded full scholarships for an innovative study-abroad program in Southeast Asia this summer.

The Carolina Southeast Asia Summer Program, based in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, is designed especially for students at the end of their first year. The program, now in its fourth year, is made possible through a gift from the Twelve Labours Foundation in Carbondale, Colo., which provides scholarships and covers all program costs.

During the seven-week academic program, the students are traveling in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and China. They were selected from a pool of more than 100 applicants.

“We sought participants who were bright, interesting and engaged students who would contribute their unique energies to a diverse group,” said Daniel Gold, assistant director of study abroad for Asia and lecturer in Asian studies at UNC. Gold is leading the group this summer.

The program is designed to inspire participants to pursue additional international study, research, service or employment opportunities by engaging students in study abroad early in their college careers.

Joining the group as a program alumni research fellow is Joey Horne, a UNC student from Greendale, Wis., who was a participant in the program last summer. This year, Horne is undertaking an independent undergraduate research project to further develop his academic interests in the region. He also is a guide for the new students.

This year’s program offers an introduction to the history, culture and international relations of Southeast Asia and to issues of globalization. Students will spend most of the program at the National University of Singapore. Classes, taught in English by Gold and the Singapore faculty, will be complemented by out-of-class activities and excursions to Kuala Lumpur and Melaka in Malaysia, Bangkok and Ayuttaya in Thailand and Kunming in China.

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