By Jessica Robinson
University of Wyoming junior Jordan Headrick of Cheyenne, Wyo., wanted international experience in health care. She is majoring in physiology with a minor in entrepreneurship, and she is also a pre-dental student. Headrick’s international experience took her to San Ignacio, Belize, where she shadowed a dentist in the local hospital. She was there for a month and had the opportunity to observe how hospitals and clinics operate in developing countries and learned about the country’s health care system.
“I have really never been out of the country, so living in a different country was an amazing experience,” Headrick says. “From a health care perspective, just getting to work with underserved communities taught me so much and that I really do care about helping others. It really made me realize that I love dentistry and that I want to continue to go back to these developing countries and help out.”
The UniWyo Federal Credit Union Study-Abroad Scholarship was created to help students fulfill their dreams of international study. Scholarships are awarded to cover expenses, including tuition, international and in-country transportation, room, board, health and safety insurance, books, materials and other needs. To qualify, students have to be a member of the UniWyo Federal Credit Union and meet the additional criteria established by UW.
“I couldn’t have afforded it (the trip) without a scholarship, so without the UniWyo scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to go and get this amazing experience, so it made a huge, huge impact,” Headrick says. “I appreciate it so much.”
UniWyo Federal Credit Union Study-Abroad Scholarships were first awarded in the 2009–10 school year, and through this academic year there have been 20 awards that total $38,600.
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