Adaeze Aninweze is the first Winthrop student to receive the Boren scholarship. The scholarship will pay $20,000 for her living and tuition expenses in Brazil. She will live in Brazil to learn Portuguese and more about Brazil's public health
system.
ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — Winthrop University senior Adaeze Aninweze, a chemistry major originally from Nigeria, has won a National Security Education Program David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarship for Study
Abroad. More than 820 applications from undergraduate students were received for the Boren
Scholarship and 165 were awarded.
Aninweze is the first Winthrop student to receive the prestigious scholarship.
The merit-based scholarship provides a unique funding opportunity for U.S. students
to study world regions critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central
and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East).
Recipients incur an obligation to work for a period of at least one year either for an office or agency of the federal government involved in national security
affairs or in higher education.
The Boren scholarship, named for University of Oklahoma President David Boren, who
as a U.S. Senator was the principal author of the legislation that created the National
Security Education Program, will pay a total of $20,000 towards Aninweze's tuition and living expenses for the summer, fall and spring terms of 2016-17 while she lives and studies in Brazil.
"I have always wanted to study abroad but could not find the right program for me.
When I learned about the Boren and how much independence the student has in deciding
how he or she chooses to plan their program of study, I knew it was the one for me,"
said Aninweze, who attended West Ashley High School in Charleston, South Carolina.
"I was able to use my past experiences and future plans to indicate why the Boren
was suitable for me. I also liked how the Boren required a service requirement after the duration of the study abroad to allow students to apply their abroad experience
in a professional setting. It's an opportunity to meet professionals with the same
background as me, network and form long lasting relationships."
For the summer and 2016-17 academic year, Aninweze, who is part of the Winthrop Eagle STEM Scholars program, will travel to Brazil to learn Portuguese and take courses in public health. Brazil has the largest public health system in the world, and Aninweze is interested
in learning how Brazil's public health system could serve as a model for developing
countries. She eventually hopes to work as a doctor in international medicine improving global health.
Aninweze worked with Winthrop's Office of Nationally Competitive Awards to complete the scholarship application process. Leslie Bickford, the office's director, said of Aninweze, "She was a pleasure to work with: she's
a beautiful writer, and she put a lot of effort into finding the right programs of
study for her goals. Her plans align perfectly with the mission of the Boren."
For more information, please contact Monica Bennett, director of communications, at bennettm@winthrop.edu or 803/323-2236.
