Earning the Bucklew Scholarship has opened many doors worldwide for West Virginia University sophomore Georgia Beatty, who will study abroad next academic year in Germany.
The Weirton, W.Va. native has already spent some time studying abroad in Europe and has taken part in WVU’s Global Medical and Dental Brigades’ trips to Nicaragua and Honduras.
“I never thought that my college career would take me to eight countries and counting,” Beatty said. “I never thought that I would be serving resource-reduced regions Nicaragua and Honduras. Or even in my classes, I never thought that we would be discussing such real, empowering issues.
"I think WVU has an astronomical impact on the state and even on the world," she continued. "There's definitely something to be said about going into these health clinics with these people, wearing all blue and gold, and you feel like you're doing some good on behalf of your state and on behalf of the university."
The Neil S. Bucklew Scholarship is named after WVU’s 20th president and is valued at $40,000, providing its recipients with more than $10,000 per year over four years to be used toward educational costs.
“Being a Bucklew Scholar means that someone believed in me, and not just my parents,” she said. “It was the university looking at me as a student, objectively, weighing all of the things that I’ve done and the potential for the things that I have to do and saying ‘Yes, we as a university believe in Georgia.’”
Beatty is a double-major in English and German and hopes to volunteer for the Peace Corps after graduation to teach English abroad.
At WVU, Beatty currently serves as vice president of the German Club, a member of Student Government Association and Model United Nations and is an Honors College ambassador.
“It really has exceeded all of my expectations,” Beatty said. “Being a West Virginian, it was hard for me to kind of believe in myself for a long time and to realize that there were so many opportunities that were right in my backyard.”
The Bucklew Scholarship is given to 20 high-achieving West Virginia students accepted to WVU and qualifies them to be considered for a Foundation Scholarship, the highest academic scholarship the university awards.
“To anyone who has donated who may have impacted my time here at WVU or any other student’s, I would just like to say thank you.
“None of this, none of what I’ve accomplished would be possible without the help of you and of people like you,” she continued. “I hope you continue to keep supporting the university and keep supporting these students and keep supporting West Virginians in that way.”
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