Fifteen West Virginia University students recently earned Global Education Opportunities grants totaling $10,750 for study abroad programs.

Ranging from $500 to $1,000, these grants assist undergraduate and graduate students with the costs of long-term projects and semester programs.

Recipients will use the grants to study abroad in eight different countries: Belgium, China, France, Japan, Morocco, Romania, South Africa and Turkey.

The following students were selected from 49 applicants:

John Aravanis , an interior design major from Morgantown, will attend Aichi Shukutoku University in Japan on a WVU exchange.

Bradley Birkhimer , a graduate visual arts student from Columbus, Ohio, will spend a semester abroad in WVU ’s Ceramic Program at the Jingdezhen Art Institute in China.

Thomas Brand III * , an agribusiness management major from Morgantown, will conduct research in the Jiu Valley in Romania.

*Scott Cornish , a graduate visual arts student from Morgantown, will join WVU ’s Ceramic Program at the Jingdezhen Art Institute in China.

Dana Cowell , a political science major from Huntington, will spend the 2004-2005 academic year at the University of Grenoble in France.

Jillian Dorsey , an interior design major from Charleston, will spend a semester abroad at the University of Stellanbosch in South Africa.

Justin Dunleavy , an international studies major from Harpers Ferry, will attend the University of Grenoble in France for a semester.

Jennifer Friar , a graduate art history student from Three Churches, will travel to France to study funerary monuments in Paris.

Ryan Glanville , an international studies major from Kenna, will spend a semester at the Bogazici (Bosphorus) University in Turkey.

Franklin Graham VI , a graduate geography student from Mount Vernon, Wash., will spend the summer participating in Arabic study at Al Akhawayn University in Morocco.

Zach Mauss , a sports behavior major from Dubuque, Iowa, is currently a WVU exchange student at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.

Rachel Mihalovich-Cook , a graduate history student from Westover, will conduct independent research at the NATO archives in Brussels, Belgium.

Nicole Peters, a visual arts major from Finleyville, Pa., will join WVU ’s Ceramic Program for a semester at the Jingdezhen Art Institute in China.

Leah Squires , an English and international studies double major from Martinsburg, will spend the 2004-2005 academic year at the University of Grenoble in France.

Thomas Whitaker , an international studies major from Charleston, will spend the 2004-2005 academic year at the University of Grenoble in France.

Initiated in 1992, the GEO grants are supported by the Ralph&Dora Nelson International Study Travel and W. Gerald and Carolyn E. Blaney endowments. Additional funds are provided by WVU ’s Office of International Programs.

For more information, contact OIP at 304-293-6955 ext. 2.